Tranquilize
by GryphonWonder14
Summary: A dangerous new enemy has appeared bent on power and revenge. With his and his brother's life on the line, Kaiba must overcome his past in order to save the world. Seto-centric, not slash.
1. Prologue

Title- One More Son

Rating- T, may become M in later chapters

Pairings- slight Yugi x Anzu

Warnings- violence, adult language, adult situations

Summary- A dangerous new enemy appears in the form of Gozaburo's former business partner whose lust for power threatens humanity. With his and his brother's life on the line, Seto Kaiba must overcome his past and learn to trust the people around him in order to save the world.

**A/N- **Warning! This is my first big project in a long, long time. It may or may not be finished. It starts off really slow, but it speeds up by the fifth chapter. The first few just set up the story line. This is going to be mainly Kaiba-Centric. It deals with Seto overcoming his past and all that good stuff. The other characters will have large roles later on, don't worry. All the names of the characters will be the original Japanese names, so Isono=Roland. Did I forget to mention anything? Oh yeah! This is going to be a dark one, kiddies. Real dark.

Disclaimer- I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. This is purely a fan-made story.

* * *

Prologue

_Wednesday, June 10_

_Location Unknown_

The night was cold and bitter. Despite it being early June, the usually energetic city was experiencing a cold spell. An ever-present breeze plagued any unlucky straggler left outside without the comfort of a warm home, the frigid air chilling them to the bone.

The man sprinting desperately through the sleeping streets of Domino City barely noticed the chill, however, even though his white lab coat was unsuitable to keep out the cold air. He dashed from one ally to the next, hiding himself in the shadows of the night, feet slipping in the puddles dotting the concrete. A wrong turn and his flight ended in a dead end. His face was a mask of unsuppressed terror when he turned reluctantly to face his pursuers.

"Please, I don't know what you want! Just don't, don't hurt me!" He stammered.

"You're coming with us," A stoic voice answered as if giving an indisputable command. Two dark figures cornered the frantic man; one held up a weapon…

The man in the lab coat felt a sharp pain and then nothing as his conscience surrendered to the merciless darkness of the shadows.

* * *

**A/N-** The prologue is really short. The other chapters are much longer.


	2. Chapter 1

A/N- If you were wondering about the title of this fic, it's a line taken from the Killer's song 'All These Thing's that I've Done'. In fact, the whole fic is inspired by The Killer's songs, so expect the chapters to be named accordingly.

Disclaimer- I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. This is purely a fan-made story.

* * *

Chapter 1

_Thursday, June 11_

_Kaiba Corp Main Office_

"_Our top story tonight: Oshiro Industries appoints businessman Takuma Satō as the new CEO after the tragic death of founder and company president Hisao Oshiro. The former CEO was found dead in his home last Saturday after suffering a fatal heart attack…"_

"Oshiro Industries," Mokuba Kaiba repeated softly, lost in thought. It was the last day of school. As always, instead of coming home right after, the boy retired to the Kaiba Corp main office where he assisted his brother in managing the company day after day as the vice president. Yet as there was little work to be done at the time, the boy caught up on the world news by relaxing on the office couch in front of the flat screen TV.

"Sounds familiar, huh?" A voice sounded from across the spacious room. Seto Kaiba, CEO of Kaiba Corp and self-proclaimed duelist extraordinaire, stood up from his heavy mahogany wood desk and approached the television, his attention focused on the developing story.

"_As the Vice President and close advisor to Hisao Oshiro, he was selected to succeed the former and continue to keep the company running smoothly despite recent setbacks." _

"Yeah," the younger sibling answered, surprised, and looked up at his older brother from his comfortable position on the sofa, "Wasn't that the name of the company that competed with our stepfather's?"

"Correct," the young CEO replied crossing his arms, "OI was just a fledgling company back then, though. It wasn't until after Kaiba Corp converted to gaming development that the name 'Oshiro' became famous. Thanks to Mr. Oshiro, OI is now the top arms manufacturing company in Japan."

"I suppose somebody had to step up to the plate," the younger sibling reasoned and Seto momentarily glanced at his brother.

"_Yet although his qualifications are impressive, only time will tell how Satō holds up as the CEO of Japan's most prosperous weapons development company." _

"Takuma Satō. He used to work for Gozaburo," Seto sneered the name, "They were close business partners. When we took over Kaiba Corp, he abandoned the company and weaseled his way into working for OI."

"Really?" Mokuba continued to stare at the news broadcast, yet the serious face of the new president on the screen seemed unfamiliar.

"I just never thought he would rise to the position of CEO, the corrupt fool. I never trusted him," the teen sighed and turned back to the paperwork waiting for him across the room. The news switched to the weather report.

"Wait, Seto" The younger boy called out, as there were more important things to discuss. The teen looked around, curious, "You know, Seto, my birthday is coming up soon."

"How could I forget?"

"Well, remember last year you were too busy planning Battle City to really celebrate it?" Mokuba hinted slyly, "And as far as I know, Kaiba Corp doesn't have anything important scheduled next month…"

"What are you getting at?" Seto sighed and played along.

"Can we go on vacation?"

"A vacation?"

"Yeah, you know a week or something of no work and nothing but having fun and relaxing for once…" The boy rambled. "We can go to Europe! Or maybe the Caribbean or Australia! I've always wanted to go to Australia."

"Sure," the CEO uttered after thinking for a second.

"Sure?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"You mean we can? Really?" Mokuba was genuinely surprised.

"Of course. A vacation sounds good, actually. It's been a long year and, well, you deserve it." The older brother stood up and walked up to his sibling, ruffling his hair, "You just finished school, right?"

"Right," The boy nodded and looked up with a hint of suspicion, "You promise?"

"Promise." Seto smiled and Mokuba grinned from ear to ear.

"_In other news, Kaiba Corp recently announced plans to build a new Kaiba Land in New York, USA. Construction of the park is scheduled to begin in early August." _

"That reminds me," the nineteen-year-old glanced at the television screen and headed back towards his desk, "I have a business meeting with potential investors for Kaiba Land in New York City. I'm leaving the day after tomorrow and I want you to watch over the company while I'm away."

"_Due to the success of the Duel Monsters- themed amusement park in Domino City and the growing popularity of the card game in America, the company is one of the few not hard-hit by the global economic recession."_

"Alright, Seto," Mokuba sighed

"I'll only be gone a couple of days," the CEO picked up on his sibling's displeasure. This would be the fourth business trip in a month. But as much as Mokuba detested them and Seto hated them even more, meetings with clients were essential to opening amusement parks, "And you have permission to fire anyone who gives you a hard time."

"Bro, that's mean!" Mokuba scolded and Seto laughed despite of himself. The teen was in a good mood, a rarity for the young man in charge of the most successful gaming company in the world. With the success of the first Kaiba Land and promising new investments overseas, it was smooth sailing from here on out.


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer- I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. This is purely a fan-made story.

* * *

Chapter 2

_Evening_

_Kaiba Mansion _

'…_your stupid little bastard of a brother. He makes you weak! Cast him aside or you'll never become strong enough to succeed me, boy!" _

"_I will never abandon him! Never!" _

_Red eyes. Hatred. Anger. A raised hand. Cold twisted words of promised regret._

_Pain._

Seto Kaiba snapped awake, breathing heavily. His too aware eyes were greeted only by the familiar darkness of his bedchambers.

"A dream?" the teen mumbled quietly and sat up, turning on the lamp on his bedside table. Light flooded the room, comforting and warm. The alarm clock said 1:25 am. He relaxed and steadied his breathing, "just a bad dream..."

No, not just a bad dream, the bothersome logical part of his conscience piped up. A nightmare. A wake-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night-mare. Something that the boy was sure he was free of ever since he buried the wearisome past in a satisfying fiery gunpowder-induced explosion almost a year ago.

"God damn it," Seto let out a frustrated groan and rubbed his temples. Now that he was awake, there was no use trying to get back to sleep. He knew that from experience. Glancing at his door, he figured there must be something useful he could do. Summaries to comb through, budget reports to oversee, technology to invent… The list goes on and on.

The brunette threw aside the covers and slipped into a pair of slippers. Not bothering to change out of his comfortable pajamas, he made his way out of his room and into the hallway.

There is absolutely nothing logical that would explain the relapse, the young CEO reasoned and made his way down to the main computer room underground, careful not to disturb his sleeping younger sibling. Nothing was seriously bothering him at the moment. Nothing consequential, anyways, and this was rare indeed. Maybe the dream was just a fluke. Nothing to seriously worry about. All people have nightmares sometimes, right? Right.

Seto's subconscious mind guided him through the maze of hallways and through the security system towards his intended destination. As soon as the preprogrammed robotic voice of his high-tech computer system verified his identity, the teen began checking over and refining his newest projects.

It was well past three in the morning that the boy caught himself falling asleep in front of the blue glow of the screen. Maybe taking a quick nap before getting up in the morning wouldn't hurt, he thought. Just he was about to stand up and return to his chambers, the computer's stoic voice shook him out of his trance.

"_New user detected."_

"What?" Kaiba whispered, surprised, and looked over the monitor. Indeed there was another person currently accessing the Kaiba Corp database. The computer recognized the presence as user #3001. Seto grimaced, blinking the sleep from his eyes. The account number definitely belonged to a KC employee; based on the sequence of digits it was someone in the information sector with high security clearance, "Computer- Bring up the user's account information."

_#3001_

_Hideki Kobayashi_

_Research and Development_

_Manager_

The boy grimaced. Just as he had suspected.

"Monitor the user's movements," Seto glanced at the digital clock of his computer screen. 3:38 am. Definitely suspicious, "Note any unusual activity and display which files they access."

"_Understood."_

Obviously, no KC researcher would normally access the mainframe in the middle of the night without being given express permission to do so. The only reasonable explanation points to illicit activity by the party in question. Kaiba could easily block Kobayashi from the system in a moment's notice, yet if there was something unusual going on, such as embezzlement of company funds, it was better to catch him in the act. Tracking the hacker was the most logical choice. After all, knowledge is power; even a CEO cannot fire a high-ranking employee without sufficient evidence.

Unbeknownst to the hacker, the computer traced Kobayashi's movements across the company mainframe. His movements were erratic; he constantly jumped from folder to file, as if searching for something. That was understandable: the amount of data on the system was astronomical. Moreover, any noteworthy files were protected by various firewalls and codes. Monitoring the information on the screen, Seto noted with interest that the manager didn't attempt to access any important financial information. That was little cause for celebration, however, as the hacker tore down some formidable security protocols in place on a particularly guarded file.

"Interesting…" the teenager scowled as the intruder dove into an old sector of the KC database. Apparently, he'd found a lead.

"_Security alert, sector 00." _

"Very interesting…" Seto stared in disbelief as the user broke through yet another wall into a folder unknown to the young CEO, "Computer, follow the user. What is he looking for?"

The screen refreshed and instantly Kaiba knew. The hacker's destination was clear. Hideki Kobayashi effectively unearthed KC's oldest technology database which hasn't been accessed in years.

_Project-433, Project 402… KC-2… KC-4…_

Names floated to the surface of the boy's head, familiar names. User #3001 was attempting to break into the part of Kaiba Corp that was left over from when it was still a weapons manufacturing company. Although most of the old company's information was wiped clean when Seto took over, bits and pieces remained tightly locked away for a reason. If there were still blueprints of any old projects left hidden away somewhere… No, this was bad, very bad indeed…

"Computer, halt the user's movements now. I know what he's after," Seto Kaiba's scowl deepened, "expel him from the system. Block #3001's passwords and codes. I can't allow him back in."

"_Affirmative,"_ the robotic voice answered and the user was instantly thrown out of the database.

Gozaburo Kaiba had many enemies. Seto Kaiba had as many and then some. Luckily for the teen, he just located his newest threat. Anyone who would dare browse through his company's mainframe searching for classified blueprints of some of the most powerful weapons created in the past decade wasn't to be taken lightly. Yet neither was the genius CEO that ascended into power by burying the old Kaiba Corp and making it his own.

The boy smiled. The hacker's movements revealed that Seto was dealing with someone with ties to the old KC. Although catching the theft wasn't on his schedule for the night, the strategy paid off splendidly. If blueprints or any sort of vital information concerning the old and destructive KC projects were to fall into the wrong hands, the results would be catastrophic. The threat must be dealt with immediately.

Fortunately, Seto Kaiba was one step ahead.

* * *

**A/N**- Stuff happens. Yeah. Anyways, reviews are greatly appreciated.


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N- **Thanks for the reviews! I'm in college now, so I don't know when I'll be updating next. Sorry.

Disclaimer- I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. This is purely a fan-made story.

* * *

Chapter 3

_Thursday, June 11  
_

_Domino City Park_

"Bad day, huh?"

Anzu Mazaki was sitting alone on a cold park bench staring at her feet feigned interest when a voice broke her train of thought. The brunette looked up, suddenly aware of her surroundings. The dark-haired newcomer smiled, waved, and approached her slowly. The man looked to be in his late thirty's and wore a plain light blue collared shirt and black slacks. To the seventeen year old, he looked like an average overworked office worker, especially considering the ordinary wire rimmed glasses decorating his face. Anzu stood up and straightened her yellow skirt. She was still wearing the standard uniform required for waitresses at the fast food joint across the street. _Bad day? That had to be the understatement of the century. _

"Average," she replied, cautiously. Being polite was one thing, but talking to random suspicious strangers was not in the girl's nature.

"Well, if getting fired from your job is an everyday occurrence, then I suppose so," The man shrugged. He looked amiable enough, and as he got closer Anzu recognized him as a customer back at the burger joint. She wasn't his waitress per say, but she learned long ago to memorize faces quickly because of her countless jobs in customer service.

"You saw that…?" She stuttered, referring to the rather embarrassing yet brief conversation with her manager not too long ago. She hated that manager: it seemed Mrs. Kouda had it in for her since day one, "I just don't tolerate rude customers."

"No, don't blame you," The man chuckled at her attempt to explain the situation. The ex-waitress had slapped a rather deserving customer in defense of her co-worker, a sweet young girl a year younger than Mazaki. The man's remarks weren't just bordering on sexual harassment. As a self-respecting woman, Anzu quickly stepped in. Unfortunately, her manager caught her in the act and fired her right then and there for 'assaulting a valued customer'. So much for justice, "You did the right thing."

"Thank you," Anzu replied unsure of the man's intentions.

"Oh!" he exclaimed and as if suddenly aware of the lingering awkwardness of the conversation added "my name is Takahiro Takeda, nice to meet you."

"Anzu Mazaki," the ex-waitress extended her arm out for a firm handshake.

"I have a preposition for you, Miss Mazaki," Takeda stated in a suddenly business-like tone. Anzu looked up expectantly, "Now that you are unemployed, I was wondering if you are interested in a new job?"

"Certainly," the girl was taken aback. After getting fired again, Anzu wasn't optimistic about getting hired so soon. Her dreams of going to New York were once again looking glum.

"Great!" The man was oddly excited, "I am looking for a personal assistant; a secretary, if you will. I am a manager at Oshiro Industries so the job will be mostly filing and record-keeping. I could start the salary at sixteen-hundred yen an hour, but if you absolutely want, I could push it higher."

_Sixteen-hundred yen an hour? _As a waitress, the hourly wage was abysmal. Moreover, she wouldn't have to deal with bastard customers! The man seemed nice enough, too. Suddenly, the day wasn't so terrible.

"I would be honored to work for you," she graciously accepted. Suddenly, boy of five or six raced over and hugged her new employer around the knees.

"Daddy! Daddy!" The child exclaimed, "Mommy said you would buy us ice cream!"

"Did she now?" Takeda rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as young girl ran over with an almost guilty-looking mother in tow, "Well, I guess I have no choice then."

Anzu smiled at the two kids. It didn't take much to put a smile on a child's face. The father appeased the children and turned his attention back to the teenager. They exchanged phone numbers and he filled in some more details. Finally, before saying good-bye, Anzu couldn't help but ask a question that was bothering her the entire time.

"Why me? You saw me getting fired."

"You are very good with numbers. I noticed that when you were taking care of your orders," he simply replied, "Also, standing up for your friend shows you have good moral fiber. For that, you have my respect."

_Moral fiber. Cool. _

* * *

_Friday, June 12_

_Kaiba Corp Main Office_

"Give me any and all information you can gather on Mr. Hideki Kobayashi of the Research and Development sector," Kaiba barked to his most trusted employee, Isono, the very next morning, "When he comes into work today, send him straight to my office, no questions asked."

There usually weren't any, anyways. It was an unspoken rule among the employees of KC which even the noobies picked up on right from the start: Never question Seto Kaiba. Getting on the fiery young CEO's bad side spelled death, or worse: unemployment. Following this principle, Isono complied wholeheartedly albeit sleepily and began digging up background information on the unsuspecting man in question. Warrant? Who needs a warrant?

Meanwhile, the president made his way up to his office as per usual. It was barely five thirty in the morning. He came to work earlier than normal mainly because most of his night was spent in front of a computer screen and there was still so much that needed to be done at the office. Seto already made a mental list of possible culprits behind the hacking. After all, it was impossible that a KC employee could know of the existence of the old KC projects. They were highly classified.

Seto continued to ponder this even when he stepped into his office and made his way towards the large glass wall-made-window behind his desk. The view was captivating, as always: Domino City stretched out below the CEO's feet, golden in the light of the rising sun. When the boy first looked out this window nine years ago, he likened it to the view from a castle. Here the King stands and looks out at the meager houses of his serfs and the land which he owns yet they plow.

Kaiba smirked sardonically at the memory with a twisted sense of triumph. Certainly, the people looked up from below as well. When Gozaburo fell, ousted from his throne, the entire city witnessed it clear as day.

No matter, the teen shook himself out of his trance. There was work to be done. The CEO sat down at his desk and buried himself in paperwork. Still, the last night's incident plagued him continuously. The list of possible suspects was short. There were very few people privileged enough to know about the most secret KC weapons, which were more likely than not what the hacker was after. Some of them were dead. Others were discredited and kicked out of the city, harmless. Out of the blue, there was a knock on the door.

"I found the information you asked for, Mr. Kaiba," the Isono said and strode into the room to stand in front of the desk, "You'll find this very interesting."

"Go on," The brunette looked up from the computer. His advisor and aide handed him several papers which Seto skimmed through. Nothing suspicious. It was a basic resume and profile of an everyday KC employee.

"Nothing stands out in his profile, as you can tell," Isono added, "Except this: His family recently filed a missing persons report on him. I checked, he never showed up for work yesterday. Records show that he left work Wednesday night, but he never got home."

"Find him," the CEO ordered without a second thought. Isono looked surprised by the sudden command but recovered quickly.

"Is there a certain reason…?"

"Someone using his ID number and passwords hacked into the mainframe last night. He was looking for data concerning the old Kaiba Corp." Identity theft was also entirely possible.

"Understood," Isono gave a slight bow and left the office.

* * *

**A/N- **Yeah. Enter Anzu. Her role as Takeda's secretary would be pretty vital. The rest of the cast will make an appearance soon enough as well.


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N**- Sorry for the long delay. College sort of takes a lot out of you. Furthermore, it's hard to find time alone to sit down an write in peace without a roommate there to bother you. Anyways, here's an increasingly darker new chapter~

Disclaimer- I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. This is purely a fan-made story.

* * *

Chapter 4

_Date Unknown_

_Location Unknown_

Seto slowly opened his eyes, groaning. Darkness. Was he awake? Was he dreaming? No. Dreams weren't this painful. The boy tried to stand up despite the pounding headache that threatened to overwhelm him. Bad idea. His hands were tied behind his back. Fortunately, he felt a wall close by and sat up, leaning on it for support. His eyes slowly adjusted to the unfamiliar room, but the surroundings gave little indication of where he was. The walls were completely blank save for one sturdy-looking door. The room itself was completely empty.

Sighing, the Kaiba rested his head against the wall, shut his eyes, and tried to think. Thinking hurt. What was the last thing he remembered? His brain produced fuzzy images. He was at the party in New York City. That was for sure. His clothes could attest to it, albeit his jacket and cell phone were conveniently missing now. He was going to call Mokuba, he recalled, but he didn't remember actually calling. Surely somebody would notice him missing.

Wasn't the whole 'getting kidnapped' thing supposed to be Mokuba's specialty? The brunet scowled at the thought. No, Seto freaking Kaiba does not get kidnapped. The thought of it is… absurd.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps and glanced at the door expectantly. He managed to stand up shakily and leaned against the back wall, facing the doorway, in a far more dignified position. Whoever did this had hell to pay. The door swung open. Seto winced as unnatural bright light flooded the chamber.

"Back against the wall," a gruff voice ordered. _Way ahead of you_, Seto thought sarcastically and studied the newcomers. From Kaiba's experience, they both appeared to be stereotypical suit-wearing henchmen. Both were carrying handguns. '_As if I would try anything with my hands tied behind my back and my head splitting in two.._.'

'_Nevertheless, it would be far more logical in this situation to play along', _the teen thought._ 'Knowledge is power'. _Even if he did manage to fight off the two guards, he would be completely lost considering his had absolutely no clue as to the circumstances of his situation_._ The two led the CEO out of the room and down a long darkened corridor. The building was old and uncared for. Chips of paint had flaked off of the cracked walls and the many doors along the sides were rusted. It looked like an abandoned office building. The lack of windows made it impossible for Seto to pinpoint his location; yet considering the state of the building, he figured he was somewhere underground. They passed through an inconspicuous and unmarked door at the end of the hallway into another dimly lit chamber.

The room was far bigger than the one he woke up in: it looked like it was once used for storage but now housed an impressive amount of computer equipment stacked up on and around a table on the far side. The only source of light came from a dusty hanging lamp in the middle of the room and the electrical glow of multiple computer screens and multicolored blinking lights.

There were only two people in the room. The first was a nervous looking man leaning against the wall. He flinched visibly when the threesome entered and Seto grimaced in surprise. He recognized the frazzled-looking man from the profile photo he looked at not too long ago. The man was definitely Hideki Kobayashi. The second figure rose from his place on an office chair by the computer screens and purposefully strode towards the newcomers with open arms in greeting. It was obvious he was in charge. The bodyguards left the prisoner in the center of the room and fell back to stand by the doorway.

"Seto Kaiba," the raven-haired man greeted the CEO with a falsely cheery tone. Seto frowned. The man appeared to be in his mid-thirties. He was well built and of an impressive height. He was simply dressed in all black and seemed to blend in with the overall sinister atmosphere of the room. The face was unfamiliar: his visage was long and pointed and not without wrinkles. Although his voice seemed gentle, the hardness of his expression divulged the harshness of his character. He looked dangerous. Kaiba remained unimpressed. The man's unreadable coal-black eyes focused on the brunet, "It's been too long. You've grow a lot since I last saw you- in person, of course."

"Cut the crap- I don't know you," Seto scoffed in response, "We've never met before. As far as I'm concerned you're just some washed-up businessman with an eye on my company."

"Everything is all business with you, huh? As expected," the stranger smiled slightly without loosing his threatening aura, "You truly are Gozaburo's son."

"Get to the point."

"Fine. I'll be frank. I'm not after anything to do with your pathetic company. I'm after something far more valuable than _that_," the man spat, "And I'm positive you have what I'm looking for."

"You are responsible for hacking into my company's mainframe," Kaiba deducted. It was a statement, not a question. The stranger nodded once. _But how did he manage to do it?_

"I was hoping to procure the information I need without resorting to desperate measures," He waved his arm out to indicate the present situation, "But I didn't account for you interfering."

"I don't take kindly to rats poking their noses where they don't belong," the young Kaiba snarled; the stranger's scowl deepened and his eyes narrowed dangerously. The boy refused to be intimidated.

"Didn't your parents ever teach you not to mouth off to your elders?"

"I guess I missed that lesson. Now, I make a living out of it."

"Heh. As I recall, just before you succeeded on taking over the company, Kaiba Corp was in the process of designing an advanced new product. Gozaburo Kaiba promised his clients that it would be the most effective weapon of the century. He called it- 'years ahead of it's time'," the black-clad man explained whilst walking slowly closer to Seto, "This, of course, was classified information that only his closest consults knew about due to… security issues."

He stopped and locked eyes with his prisoner trying to decipher the CEO's reaction to his words. Seto's eyes betrayed nothing; he remained stoic and emotionless despite being deeply disturbed by how well informed the man was.

"Although the rumors aren't very clear, the weapon design was supposedly finished and the blueprints were recorded into the KC mainframe. Nobody outside the company's influence knew of its existence and even the people closest to the CEO were kept in the dark about the details of the project." He continued and the two men continued to stare each other down, "It was called KC-4."

"Huh." Kaiba scoffed. He was starting to hate this man more and more, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Seto saw it coming but couldn't do a thing to avoid the vicious backhand across the face that left him stumbling backwards; stunned from the unexpected blow. When the teenager finally recovered and looked up, he almost flinched at the burning hatred in his attacker's coal-black eyes. In the back of the room, the scientist Kobayashi jumped visibly, alarmed at the startling display of violence.

"Don't play games with me, boy," the raven-haired man spat, "You helped design it."

"Who are you?" Seto asked slowly, now on the defensive. He was suddenly reminded of his step-father, but the feeling disappeared quickly.

"You can call me Katsuro Lawrence, but that name won't help you in the least. I was Gozaburo's right-hand man before _you_ took over. Without me, he would never have become as successful as he did."

"Then why didn't I know about you?"

"Because _nobody_ knew about me," Lawrence responded icily, "Enough questions. I need those blueprints."

"Sorry," the young CEO chose his words carefully, knowing full well that the man in front of him has the upper hand. Seto attempted to evaluate his situation. It was difficult to predict how much power 'Lawrence' (as he called himself) had and considering he knew about the KC-4 project, he can't be lying about being close to Gozaburo. If that was the case, then Seto had no idea what else the man was aware of. One thing was clear, however, if he got his hands on the project then the consequences would be disastrous, "I made sure all the company's blueprints were obliterated the minute I took control. I wiped the hard drive clean. They were erased along with all the other shit that man created. Even I can't get them back if I wanted to."

"Liar." Katsuro Lawrence uttered accusingly and took a step forward. The boy fought the urge to step back in response, "Your father made sure _this_ project was kept safe, even in case something were to happen to him, this much I know. Gozaburo was scared of other company's stealing his designs. The man was unreasonably paranoid; you know that as well as I. He found a way to keep the blueprints intact. Even you couldn't get rid of them, could you?"

"Gozaburo is not my father," the boy refused to show that the man's words were getting to him.

"You had to seal them away somewhere, didn't you?" he continued and reached out to grasp the CEO's shirt collar pulling them closer. His icy glare meant to intimidate and unbalance, but the teen refused to back down, "You know where they are. You have access. Give them to me."

"Go fuck yourself."

Seto expected some sort of violent reaction for that last comment, but none came. Instead, Lawrence released him with a hateful glare and a look that screamed '_I knew you were going to say that'_ and casually walked over to the nearest computer screen. The young CEO had a bad feeling about the sudden change. Katsuro Lawrence was becoming unpredictable, and that was definitely a problem.

* * *

**A/N- **Yes, I promised that more characters will show up and I know this chapter comes 'out of the blue' sort of, but there will be an explanation for it in the next chapter. Whenever_ that_ gets around to being written. Magically, reviews tend to help speed up the process.


	6. Chapter 5

Disclaimer- I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. This is purely a fan-made story.

* * *

Chapter 5

_4:15 pm, Sunday, June 14_

_Domino City_

Yugi Motou and Katsuya Jonouchi stood awkwardly at the base of the solid stone wall surrounding the enormous sprawling property belonging to the Kaiba family. Although the two teenagers were passing by along the tree-lined street towards the other side of the city, it was difficult not to stop and (in the case of the blond) gape at the guarded private home of the famous CEO. Behind the wall the grounds were enormous: trees lined the long driveway leading to the lavish white mansion and the grass lawn surrounding the house was perfectly trimmed and taken care of.

It was a sunny Sunday afternoon. The two teens were dressed casually in summer clothes perfect for the first weekend of summer break and the first summer as high school graduates. The two were almost college students now.

"So that's where moneybags lives, huh?" the taller boy commented.

"Yeah, that's his house," Yugi replied casually, "I still can't believe you haven't walked by it before."

"That's not a house, that's a freakin' castle!" Jonouchi yelled somewhat angrily, "That guy has too much money for his own good."

Yugi smiled in response. Surprisingly, the spiky-haired teen grew a lot the past year of high school. Although he was not quite as tall as his companion, his recent growth spurt did not go unnoticed by his friends and family. Moreover, after being proclaimed the world's best Duel Monsters player last summer and becoming separated from the pharaoh that resided within him, the boy grew stronger mentally and emotionally. Although Yugi lacked the arrogance of his ancient counterpart, he was confident in himself and showed it through his natural generosity and kindness. Although the teen denied it, Anzu went as far as to say he resembled the spirit of the millennium puzzle now more than ever.

"Let's go, Jonouchi, Anzu is waiting for us," The teens were heading off to meet up with the brunette and Honda at a pretty popular cafe down town. Anzu said it's a welcome break from having to work at burger joints and she said she had good news to tell her friends.

"Yeah, yeah," the blond muttered, resting his hands behind his head as the two boys turned away from the mansion and continued down the sidewalk, "Can't keep your girlfriend waiting, can we?"

"What?" the purple-eyed teen exclaimed, flustered, "For the last time, she's not my girlfriend."

"Yeah, I bet ya wish she was."

"That's not-"

"Please," Jonouchi countered, "It's kind of obvious, ya know."

The shorter teen looked away and mumbled something under his breath in defense. One of Jonouchi's prominent character traits _was_ his bluntness. Yet Yugi couldn't help but appreciate that fact considering his own way of always looking on the bright side of things. The blond, on the other hand, said it like it is.

"It ain't too late to tell her how ya feel."

Yugi looked embarrassed, but seeing the truth of that statement, he turned back to face his best friend. Just as the he was about to open his mouth to answer, he was interrupted by a deafening roar from behind them that shattered the stillness of the day. The two friends spun around instinctively just in time to witness a powerful explosion between the trees.

"Isn't that…?"

"Kaiba's mansion!" Yugi panicked and the two of them bolted towards the direction of the rising cloud of thick black smoke. They quickly reached the front gates of the property. They were no longer guarded and it was easy to see why. Although the gates were closed tight, the seventeen-year-olds could see in between the bars that the manor itself was severely damaged. A chunk of the right side was obliterated in the blast and the usually pristine white house was charred and on fire. Guards were trying to help the people rushing out to escape the flames.

"Ya think Mokuba was- is- in there?" Jonouchi asked shakily, observing the people, mostly servants, which fled from the burning home. Yugi's eyes darted from face to face but there was no sign of the Kaiba brothers. The spiky-haired teen sent a worried glance at his companion and the blond nodded once in response. The ex-Yankee jumped and pulled himself up onto the wall then lent Yugi a hand. Both of them jumped down onto the property and sprinted to the wreckage. Nobody paid them any attention as they ran up the long driveway to the house whilst frantically calling the Kaibas' names.

"What are you doing here?" Just as they reached the front of the mansion, one of the guards noticed them and blocked their path. The man had pulled out a handgun and the two boys stopped in their tracts, "Are you responsible for this?"

"No!" Yugi cried, a horrified look on his face, "Please, we're Kaiba's friends."

"We're trying ta help!" Jonouchi hardly had time object to being called Seto Kaiba's friend. The nameless guard did not look convinced.

"Let them go. They're innocent," an exasperated voice called just as the guard stepped forward to stop the two from rushing past him. The two wheeled around to witness Isono running towards them. The first guard gave up and hurried off with a look of annoyance.

"Isono!" Yugi looked relieved. Jonouchi, on the other hand, looked almost disappointed that the man disrupted what was surely going to turn into a fight, "Could you tell us what's going on? Is anybody hurt? Where are the Kaiba's?"

"I don't know," Kaiba Corp's right hand man stated despairingly, "It seems like a bomb was detonated inside the right wing. It could be a terrorist attack. Mr. Kaiba has a lot of enemies, but he is on a business trip this weekend. It's too soon to tell if there are any casualties, but…"

"Yes?" Yugi inquired anxiously.

"Young master Mokuba was in there."

* * *

**A/N**- Ah yes, a short chapter. It would have been longer but I decided that the second part to this… part… is too long to add to the end of this scene and therefore will be its own chapter. I promised to put more characters in here and I did. We'll check back on Kaiba in the next chapter, once I get around to writing it. I have a college paper to write and this is kind of distracting me from writing it because fanfiction is so much more fun to write! Here, I get to act like the sadistic fangirl I am. Yay.

Thank you reviewers JuubiOokami and AZ300!


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N-** Warnings: adult language and graphic violence

(Just thought I'd throw that out there now before it's too late.)

Disclaimer- I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. This is purely a fan-made story.

* * *

Chapter 6

_Date Unknown_

_Location Unknown_

For the first time in a long time Seto Kaiba contemplated murder. There was no other way to describe it: he saw red. When he witnessed his home explode on the television screen in that little dark room, he wanted nothing more than to watch Katsuro die a slow and agonizing death for what he has done. Unfortunately for the livid teen, the two guards rushed in to restrain him from launching himself at the black haired man's throat and wiping the self-confident look off of his face, hands tied behind his back or not.

"You dirty mother-fucking son of a bitch!" Seto fought against the guards holding him back. The image of the once white house on fire played over and over again inside his head. _How did this happen?_ _How did I _let_ this happen! It can't be real, it can't- because if… if… there was any chance, (and there_ was_ a chance) that _he_ was inside when it happened, and _he _got caught up in this then I've failed, I've failed to keep _him_ safe and now… and now… oh God! _

"Now do you realize, boy?" Lawrence drawled as if nothing of consequence has just taken place, "I have ways of getting what I want."

"Fuck you!" _Oh God…oh god, oh god, oh god… _

"If you would only cooperate, this would be a lot easier. Otherwise, I can make things a lot worse for you."

"No!" _How can it be worse? There's no way… _"Don't think- don't you _dare _think- that you could just get away with this! You bastard!"

"Heh," The older man scoffed and turned on a couple more screens this time of several news stations. The message was clear.

'_Breaking news! There's been an explosion in the residential district of Domino City. The mansion belonging to the CEO of Kaiba Corporation, Seto Kaiba, was targeted in what officials are calling a 'terrorist attack'. There are very few details concerning the circumstances of the attack and as of now, the situation remains unclear…'_

Kaiba's eyes darted from screen to screen anxious and unable to look away.

'…_must wait for the fire to be put out before they could investigate further…'_

"They won't find anything," Lawrence stated calmly, and Seto glared at him sharply, "There is no possible way that the explosion could be traced to me or anybody else, for that matter."

'…_Seto Kaiba is currently out of the country and could not be reached for comment. The CEO's younger brother, Mokuba Kaiba, was last seen inside the building before the explosion took place and is not counted as one of the survivors. His current whereabouts are unknown and he is presumed-'_

"And you think _this_," The young businessman could not bear to listen any more, "Is going to make me hand over KC-4?"

"No, I don't," The raven-haired man replied and the boy stared at him with a look of contempt. The broadcasts continued to play: lingering background noise in the otherwise deathly quiet darkness, "But it will help."

"Oh I doubt that-" Seto began but was cut off as his adversary picked up a cell phone from on top of the desk and answered it casually. After a few seconds, he muttered a 'good job' and hung up only to glance back at the distressed teen with a devious look that made it obvious that he knew he had the upper hand.

"Your brother isn't dead."

Kaiba stood still with a blank look on his face debating whether to be relieved or not.

"Not yet, anyways," Katsuro continued, "But you could still save him."

"Blackmail," _Wonderful_. In the back of his mind, Seto quietly wondered how it had come to this: by gaining the power to protect his younger sibling he inadvertently made Mokuba a target for every psycho that wanted something from him, "To think you'd sink _this_ low…"

"Don't underestimate my methods, Kaiba," the older man chided, "Your father learned not to and it got him far in life."

"That man is not my father," Seto reiterated although he had no idea why it was bothering him so much.

"Yeah?" Lawrence sneered, "Keep telling yourself that. You're more alike than you think."

"You're wrong. You know nothing about me."

"I know that you will do whatever you can to keep your brother safe, including complying with my demands."

Oh he had far different plans than _that_. _Once I get out of here_, Seto promised to himself, _I will make sure that snake will pay__. _

"I'll give you three days. On Tuesday night I expect you to be ready to hand over the blueprints. Don't bother looking for me, _I'll_ contact _you_. Also, if you try anything suspicious, I'll know. Any wrong moves and your brother's life is forfeit. Is that clear?"

"Tch," the CEO scoffed and looked away. _Like _that_ would ever happen._ There was no way he would even consider giving that bastard what he wanted. In his mind, the teen was already formulating a plan to rescue his brother and confront Lawrence. Three days was plenty of time to reverse this shitty situation.

"Ignorant child, you really think you could get out of this unscathed, don't you?" The dark-eyed man asked darkly.

"I've dealt with plenty of thugs like you before," Kaiba replied, his voice thick with loathing, "You're no different. I'll bring you down one way or another."

"How naïve."

_Naïve? _Seto almost laughed at the irony. He's lived through far too many hateful years to be called _that_. The very thought of it left a bitter taste in his mouth. He was a lot of things. Arrogant, yes. Prideful, yes. But not naïve. No, _never _naive_._

"But you'll learn. I'm not like Pegasus J. Crawford," Lawrence reached for another object lying on the desktop that the teenager did not notice before. It was a handgun, "I have no quarrels with murder. I don't need henchmen to get the job done for me. What's another life extinguished? What's another dead child to me?"

"Bastard…" the crass statement shocked the teen and Seto was all of a sudden acuity aware of how much danger he was in. Suddenly, Katsuro motioned for his guards to bring over the disregarded KC employee who was doing a superb job of trying to blend in with the shadows. Seto almost forgot Hideki Kobayashi was in the room. Nevertheless, the blue-eyed teen stepped back as the two henchmen dragged the man forward and threw him to the ground in front of the now armed man. As if sensing fate catching up to him, the manager scampered to his feet without taking his eyes off of the weapon.

"You know too much." Lawrence said impassively. It was a death sentence. _Fuck…_

"Please," The unfortunate man spun around desperately and addressed the young CEO with terror in his eyes. Seto realized what this was: a demonstration. The man stumbled over and the boy instinctively stepped back knowing he could do nothing to help him. "Please don't let him do this… My wife and my kids-"

A shot rang out. Try as he might, Seto couldn't look away. The terrified employee let out a strangled cry and clutched his side where a deep red stain began to spread across the fabric of his shirt. With a free hand, he reached out to clutch the front of the paralyzed teen's shirt to keep from falling to his knees.

The message was clear. _If you're not careful, this will be your brother. This will be you._

"Please…"

"Stop." The teen found his voice again. His horrified eyes met the man's pleading stare. It was surreal. Unarmed and with both hands tied behind his back, the usually confidant CEO was powerless. This man was going to die right in front of his eyes, "Stop this."

The executioner was pitiless. Seto watched as he placed the gun to the man's head with killing intent and pulled the trigger.

Subconsciously, the boy knew it would take months to get the image of the man's head exploding out of his mind. At that moment, however, he could barely think at all. The only thing that registered in his mind was his former employee toppling against him and bone and blood, so much blood, where the right side of his head used to be but now wasn't. Dimly, he was aware of pushing the body off of him and the warm blood that splattered onto his clothes but he was suddenly dizzy and everything else was a blur.

"Remember what I told you."

The murderer's words were the last thing Seto heard before drifting into unconsciousness.

* * *

**A/N**- Well that was fun to write. O_o

I told you I was a cynic. But don't worry, I'm not quite to 'Saw' level. Please review and tell me whether this should be put under the rated 'M' section or not. I can't really tell.

Thanks for the reviews JuubiOokami!


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N- **This chapter is short, I apologize. It's kind of a filler chapter as I try to figure out where I'm going with this.

Disclaimer- I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. This is purely a fan-made story.

* * *

Chapter 7

_5:20 am, Monday, June 15_

_Kaiba Corp Main Office, Domino City_

"Mr. Kaiba-"

"I know!" Kaiba barely gave Isono a chance to speak. The older man opened his mouth only to close it again trying to form words. For some reason or other, this seemed to frustrate the teen even more, "I know! I'm aware of it! He's _not _dead!"

"But sir-"

The CEO let out a frustrated groan and sat down in his office chair. He slammed his metal briefcase down on the desk with unnecessary force and flipped it open to reveal his laptop.

"What should I tell the press?"

"The press-" annoyed, Kaiba spoke through his teeth, "-is hardly my main concern right now. I don't know, make something up! That's what I'm paying the public relations people for, isn't it?"

Seto sighed. The office was still. Both men couldn't help but look anywhere but at each other. It was an awkward moment of silence.

"Sir," The man was usually energetic and on top of things, but at that moment Isono suddenly looked old. It unnerved Seto more than he cared to admit, "I'm sorry. I couldn't do anything to-"

"Stop," the brother quietly commanded. He was suddenly tired, _so _tired, "This isn't your fault. What happened was…well, there's nothing you could have done. It shocked me just as much as it had you. But I'll find a way to bring him back, I swear."

"It's not your fault, either."

"I'm not too sure about that," the boy admitted.

Isono looked as if he was about to say something back; he had a question in his eyes. But he said nothing. Kaiba truly had no reason to tell the man anything. In fact, the less about the situation anybody else knew the better. But Isono was different. He always was. He didn't pry. Unlike most of the other advisors and assistants working under the CEO, Isono respected his wishes. If there was something the teen was keeping from the rest of the company and the rest of the world, Isono knew not to question it. He knew it was personal and he keep that notion of privacy intact. The man didn't expect his employer to confide in him.

So it always came as a surprise when he did.

"Some son-of-a-bitch has a vendetta against me. It's not the first time, I know. He's… well, he's trying to get to me. Mokuba was just caught in the middle of it all…like always," the last part of the sentence came out as a whisper. After a brief pause, Seto looked his most trusted employee in the eye. "Isono."

"Sir." This was something important. That much was clear.

"Take care of the press. Hide the fact that something suspicious is going on. Make sure everything is still running smoothly. I don't need the publicity right now. In the meantime, I have to find my brother. There's nothing more important than that."

"Understood," the subordinate responded knowingly, "I'll make sure nobody bothers you."

The CEO nodded and looked back at the computer screen in front of him. Isono made his way to the exit but paused and looked back at his superior from the doorway.

"If there's anything else you need…"

"I'll call you," Kaiba replied. The older man bowed slightly and the younger watched him leave. As soon as the door was shut Seto sighed again and whispered under his breath before turning back to his work, "Thank you."

The teen turned back to his computer, lost in thought. Behind him, the entire city was bathed in light as the sun started to come up over the horizon.

'_What now?'_ The boy was tired, and it showed. It seemed like only minutes ago he woke up in a random New York alley covered in blood. In reality, it was the early hours of the morning on Sunday in America. He staggered back to the hotel after 'borrowing' an overcoat from some guy on the street to cover up the suspicious red stain. Once there, he immediately ordered a direct flight back to Domino City. A quick shower and a change of clothes later, he was off to the airport. Unfortunately the flight still took more hours than he cared to waste even though his private jet was dramatically faster than ordinary passenger ones.

There was no time to lose. During the flight he was far too anxious to rest. Instead, he attempted to look up any data on the man who called himself Katsuro Lawrence. The search was futile. The name was obviously a fake. Furthermore, the young Kaiba could not find any trace of a man resembling Lawrence in the old KC employment charts. The CEO was banking on the fact that the records at the company building itself were more complete.

Yet, it was illogical to be sure of anything. For all he knew, Lawrence was lying about everything. It was entirely possible. Although the man made it seem like he was very well informed about the goings-on in the company, he may have gotten his information from an outside source. Furthermore, Kaiba reasoned, if Lawrence was telling the truth then his connection to the company was kept under wraps.

'_Don't underestimate my methods,' _he said. If Lawrence had a history of acting out of line, then perhaps whatever dirty work he was doing for Gozaburo was done strictly under the radar. If that was so, then it would be close to impossible to find a connection between the two.

There were too many possibilities. Lawrence was shrouded in mystery. In order to figure out anything about the man, Kaiba figured that he would have to assume that all the possibilities are probable as well as that all the possibilities are false. Either way, Seto couldn't find any reliable information to go by in order to track down his adversary. He was trapped in the dark, just like he was back in New York. Even worse, he had a sinking feeling that Katsuro planned it that way.

Out of the corner of his eye, the boy caught a glimpse of something lying off to the side of his desk. He didn't notice it before because he was too preoccupied with his musings. Realizing what it was, however, Seto was instantly jolted awake.

It was his brother's locket.

_Damn it… _He jumped up and grabbed the card-shaped piece, flipping it open. His own face on the photograph smiled back at him, cheerful and naïve. It was surreal. The older brother instinctively reached for his own locket only to remember that it was missing. He already realized this back on the plane. Both cards had tiny built-in chips that allowed the brothers to pinpoint the lockets' location via GPS.

_They were designed that way specifically for situations like this_, Seto recalled bitterly. He already tried to track down Mokuba using this method. When the results pointed to the KC building, Seto realized it was completely futile. It was no coincidence that it turned up on his desk, however. It was as if Lawrence put it there on purpose just to rub it in the CEO's face that he could do whatever he wanted and get away with it. _What is he trying to accomplish by baiting me like this?_

"Fuck!" Kaiba fiercely slammed his fist down on the desk. An overwhelming rage seized him and he stepped back still clutching the locket in his hand by the chain. The teen breathed deeply and ran his free hand through his hair. He leaned back against the glass wall and attempted to quiet his anger, "Fuck."

'_What am I going to do? What am I going to do...?'_

"How am I going to get you back?"

'_How…?'_ Seto couldn't think straight anymore.

"Mokuba…"

* * *

**A/N-**What airplane does Kaiba have, anyways? It's a Cessna Citation X (doesn't that sound really cool?) –the fastest passenger plane in the world. It's a business plane that holds up to 7 people and has a top speed of 700 mph or 1,126.5 kph. That means he can travel the 6,740 miles from New York to Tokyo in 9.6 hours. Pretty sweet.

Anyways, thank you reviewers Sonnengott and JuubiOokami!

I'm still debating whether to put this in the M category or not just because I'm afraid I will have less hits. Tell me what you think. It won't get bloody again for a while.


	9. Chapter 8

Disclaimer- I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. This is purely a fan-made story.

* * *

Chapter 8

_Tuesday, June 16_

_KC Main Office_

The power went out abruptly sometime in the late afternoon. At that time, Seto was alone in his office and felt an almost cliché sense of déjà vu when the screen of his laptop went black. The feeling increased when a familiar yet unwelcome visage appeared instead of the diagnostics he was running.

"Seto Kaiba," Lawrence addressed him face to face.

"Lawrence," Kaiba growled in response, "My brother better be alright because if he's not you can kiss our bargain good-bye."

"Don't worry," The older man said with a fake reassuring voice, "You'll see him soon; if you keep up your side of the deal, anyways. We wouldn't want any problems, now, would we?"

The young CEO scowled.

"Good. I will meet you at midnight tonight at the warehouse on pier 30 of the port district. Oh, and come alone."

The screen went black again and after a few seconds, the power returned.

Well that was a short conversation. The teenager sighed. At that point, the only way to overcome his enemy's twisted little game was to play along as best as he knew how.

But Lawrence wanted KC-4. That thought disturbed Seto deeply.

The acronym stood for the special Kaiba Corporation project number four. While it was still a weapons manufacturing firm, the company created many different technologies for the purposes of war. Most were ordinary military-issue products such as tanks and firearms. On the side, however, the company developed advanced weaponry that was far more destructive and therefore far more questionable. The first three designs were faulty and controversial. They were a disappointment in the market for one reason or another and were considered failures by the KC higher ups.

However, Project number 4 was different. It was classified because it was KC's secret weapon. It worked. If it were to be manufactured and sold to the world's military giants, it would revolutionize modern warfare. The weapon was exceptionally destructive and powerful. If it were to fall into the wrong hands then millions of lives would be threatened.

Fortunately, Seto seized control of the company and destroyed every aspect of the KC-4 project before anybody not tied to the top ranks of the KC hierarchy learned of its existence. But as beneficial as that was at the time, Kaiba truly no longer had any blueprints or plans for the project in his possession. Vaguely, the teen wondered if Lawrence realized this.

But that didn't matter. Either way, Seto had no choice but to give him what he wanted.

The trick was to figure out how to trick the man into thinking he's given him genuine blueprints. Chances are, Lawrence didn't know the true concept behind the weapon. If he did, then that means there was either a serious breach of security during Gozaburo's time or that there was a strong link between Kaiba's stepfather and this mysterious new adversary that Seto did not know about. Both options were problematic and the later discomforted the young CEO more than he would care to admit.

He had to think of a plan.

The clock read 3:15. Kaiba was running out of time.

* * *

_10:45 pm_

"Thank god," Yugi muttered under his breath as the door to the elevator a door that obviously led to the main office. It was difficult enough to sneak into the KC building itself. Finding Kaiba's office was nearly impossible. Beside him, his best friend looked just as relieved as he was. Jonouchi didn't hesitate for a second, however. He wretched the door open and marched inside the spacious office.

"Kaiba!"

On the other hand, having the blond burst into Kaiba's office first probably wasn't such a good idea. The CEO barely acknowledged their presence. He took one quick glace at the pair from behind his desk and, with an unchanging look of disinterest, paged his PA.

"Isono, I need you in my office. There's a lost kid and a stray dog here that need to be escorted-"

"Kaiba, this is serious!" Jonouchi exclaimed and Yugi followed him further into the large room, "If ya could just get your head out of your ass for one second-"

"What Jonouchi means is that we know about Mokuba. We want to help," the shorter teen pushed past his friend. Seto finally looked up and stared at him as he approached the unusually messy desk. As he got closer Yugi noticed his former classmate's haggard appearance, "He's not really… gone, is he?"

"He's not."

"Is he alright? Where is he?" The news brought newfound relief to the anxious teen. Even Jonouchi eased up just a little. Kaiba continued to glare at the two and made no effort to answer, "Please, just tell us what happened."

"This doesn't concern you." The brown-haired president stated matter of a fact.

"Oh hell ya it does!" Jonouchi stepped in, "If he's in trouble, then we need to get 'im back."

"Tch. Do what you like," With that, Kaiba got up and grabbed his suitcase. He quickly pulled on the long black coat that was slung across the back of his chair and made his way towards the exit, "Anyways, I was just leaving."

"Look," Jonouchi started and stood in the way to the door, "I know ya care about him. But you're not the only one. He's our friend."

At this, Yugi nodded in agreement.

"If he's in danger, we'll do all we can to help 'im. If you're off to bring him back, we're coming with ya."

"Just tell us what's going on," The spiky haired teen added.

"Absolutely not." The came without hesitation; it was abrupt and final. This came to no surprise for the two friends. Still, Jonouchi growled in annoyance and Yugi was slightly irritated. Before Jonouchi could open his mouth to say some uncouth remark, the King of Games beat him to it.

"If he was in your position, Mokuba would do everything in his power to save you, especially if it means relying on us. I know you were hesitant to trust us in the past, but we're offering you our help. And you know why? Because friends help each other out. You're a fool not to realize it."

"Again with that friendship bullshit! Yugi, we were never friends. Just face it; neither of us wants anything to do with one another," Seto tried to get past the pair but Yugi blocked his path.

"You're wrong."

"Please. Do you realize who you're talking to? I almost got your grandfather killed put your friends' lives in danger to get what I want and I don't regret it for a second."

"I forgive you."

"No, you don't. You might think you do, but you're just kidding yourself."

"Why can't you just accept the fact that there are people out there who care about others without any hidden motives?" The two teenagers stared each other down across the desk as if locked in a duel. Jonouchi stood on the sidelines, not wanting to get involved for once. It was very rare to see Yugi acting this assertive after Atem left.

"Because that's not how the world works. If you lived one day in my shoes, you would realize that."

"You care about Mokuba."

"That's different."

"No, no it's not. You don't have to believe me, but I swear I would do everything in my power to get your brother back. Just tell me how."

"Yeah, well 'everything in your power' isn't good enough," Seto stated bluntly. At this point, Jonouchi had no choice but to step in.

"Don't talk to him like th-"

"Shut the hell up!" Kaiba spun around and glared at the blond, the anger evident on his face, "Why can't you just realize I don't want your help?"

Yugi was about to say something but Kaiba cut him off once again.

"This isn't some fucking 'save the world from the forces of darkness' crap! This is family business—it's personal! _There is nothing you can do. _Get over it." Kaiba brushed past them and headed towards the exit. At that moment, Isono came through the door. The teen gave him a curt nod and turned around to glare at his former classmates. "You're just wasting my time. If you knew what was good for you, you would stay out of this."

"You don't have to do this alone." Yugi tried one more time whist holding back his best friend from losing it completely.

Kaiba stared back with a bitter expression on his face. For a second, it looked like he would change his mind, but that quickly passed.

"There's nothing you can do. Isono will escort you out. Go home." Just as the words left his mouth, the teen turned his back to his office and left.

"That son of a bitch," Jonouchi swore, "I told ya he wouldn't listen to us."

"Hmm," Yugi continued to stare at the empty doorway and Isono looked down at him sympathetically before offering to take them down to the first floor. For some odd reason, the spiky-haired teen had a bad feeling about the whole situation.

Several days later, he'll realize why.

* * *

**A/N-** I'm sorry for the really long delay in updating. I've found it much easier to write this when I was in a depressing kind of mood. When you're pretty happy, it's hard to write good convincing angst.


	10. Chapter 9

Disclaimer- I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. This is purely a fan-made story.

* * *

Chapter 9

_Tuesday, June 16, sometime around midnight_

_Pier 30, Domino City docks _

The abandoned warehouse located on pier 30 was a decrepit old structure. The pier itself was crammed on the very edge of the industrious harbor. Neglected by dock workers and shipping officials alike, it was left to rot from disuse and lack of upkeep. The night was pitch black and the frigid ocean wind blew fiercely across the barren site, ruffling the hair and clothes of a solitary figure's stepping around the randomly scattered wooden crates that littered the docks. Seto Kaiba clutched his inconspicuous black trench coat tightly to keep warm as he cautiously approached the lonely side door of the building. He looked around as if checking to see anybody was watching then tried the handle. It was unlocked: the handle creaked and the door gave way under the slightest pressure.

The inside of the warehouse was shrouded in darkness. The only source of light came from the dim flickering lights high up on the ceiling. The walls of the enormous chamber were lined by more dusty cobweb-covered crates and grey sheets that were left to cover them. It was the perfect setting for a drug-smuggling scheme or some other illegal gang-related activity, the CEO supposed. _Or for a secret under-the-table deal between people who don't want to be disturbed…_

It was 12:00 midnight. For a moment it seemed that the teen was alone and he briefly wondered if this entire agreement was a setup. That was entirely plausible. Suddenly, he heard movement and a familiar black-clad figure stepped out of the shadows in front of him.

"Lawrence…" Kaiba growled under his breath.

"Kaiba," His adversary drawled. The man hadn't changed a bit. His straight hair fell haphazardly across his coal-black eyes and his mouth was set in a thin and unimpressed line. Katsuro stopped ten feet from the teen and gazed at him with an almost bored expression. He looked slightly aloof as if preoccupied with more important problems than the younger man's predicament. It was as if he knew the outcome of this meeting already and wanted nothing more than to get it over with and move on to something else, "Since you came as I instructed, I take it you brought what I asked for?"

"There will be no deal until I see Mokuba alive and well," Kaiba snarled.

"I suppose that's reasonable enough," Lawrence replied casually before calling out to somebody behind him. Seto stared in nervous trepidation as figure holding a handgun stepped out from the shadows. Immediately, he recognized the man as one of Katsuro's henchmen from New York. That was hardly his main concern at the moment, however. Behind him, the guard pulled along another smaller figure by the back of the collar. He came to a stop at his boss's side and held up an unconscious Mokuba Kaiba in front of him. The boy had his hands tied up behind his back but apart from that, he appeared to be unharmed.

"Mokuba!" Eyes wide, Seto lunged forward instinctively but quickly halted as Lawrence disapprovingly raised his arm out to the side in warning. The teen looked at his brother, worry evident on his face. The kid was put in more hostage situations than Seto would have liked.

"I believe we had an agreement," The man stated sourly.

Kaiba glared at him with unrivaled hatred in his icy blue eyes. Not taking his eyes from the black-clad man in front of him, the teen got out a blank CD case from inside his coat and offered it up without hesitation. Lawrence unceremoniously took the case from his outstretched hand and smiled.

"I kind of expected more resistance from you," he said.

"I upheld my side of the bargain," Kaiba said through clenched teeth, still looking at his brother helplessly, "Now it's your turn."

"I don't think so," Katsuro replied while taking the CD out of its case. He held it up with two hands and, without hesitation, snapped it clean in two. The younger man stared at the two pieces, bewildered and confused.

"What the hell—"

"Don't act so surprised. You think I was expecting you to just hand over the blueprints this easily? If this contained the real designs for KC-4, you wouldn't give them to me without hesitating, no matter what. I don't know what you put onto this CD, but it isn't what I'm looking for. I cannot trade your brother's life for this pitiful attempt to trick me."

Kaiba stared back at him, angered at being looked down upon.

"Do I really have to show you again what happens when you disappoint me?" The raven-haired man said slyly, a smile on his face. He looked frightfully eager to prove his point. Instantly, Kaiba was reminded of the scientist in New York lying dead on the cold cement floor.

"That won't be necessary," he said through gritted teeth.

"Really?" Lawrence replied, "Because I'm not so sure…" He glanced at his henchmen who in turn put down his hostage onto his knees, still holding on to the collar of his shirt. Seto watched in horror as the guard brought his gun up to the boy's head.

"Stop it!" Seto screamed, frozen in terror for his brother's life. It felt like his heart stopped. Katsuro was smiling.

_If I lose Mokuba now, I couldn't live with myself._

"Stop it! God damn it!" He didn't know what made him lose control like that. His usual stoic mask crumbled. Maybe it was the thought of losing the only person he has ever cared about. Maybe it was the thought of having to witness another murder without being able to do a thing to stop it. Either way, at that point he was absolutely terrified, "Stop!"

"Fine," Lawrence uttered, amused. His henchman lowered his weapon, much to Seto's relief. The teen was suddenly aware that he was involuntarily shaking from head to toe. He fought to steady his breathing and calm down.

Then, Lawrence did something that unexpected. He laughed.

In a split second, Kaiba's relief turned to rage. He wanted nothing more than to wipe that mocking smirk off of his enemy's face. Katsuro's intentions were painfully clear now.

"You… you're a psycho," the young CEO accused, "You're just screwing with me."

Lawrence smiled.

"This entire bargain: it was a ploy." _The situation hasn't changed in the least since two days ago. I might as well have not left that little room in New York._ "If you knew I wouldn't give anything up, then the only reason you kidnapped Mokuba, sent me on this wild chase, and threatened his life was to watch me suffer."

"Not quite," Katsuro retorted.

"Then what else do you want from me?" Kaiba asked with hatred in his tired eyes.

"My objective hasn't changed. But know you know what I am capable of. I expect you to be more cooperative with my demands from now on."

_That's it? No, nobody would put in so much effort just to prove that point if they didn't have something to gain from it (or if they were insane, completely insane). _

"Yeah, I get it," Kaiba growled, "You are here to make my life miserable. But leave Mokuba out of this. He hasn't done anything to you."

"True enough."

"Then let him go," The CEO demanded.

"I'm afraid that will be up to you. Although you screwed up the first time, I'll give you another chance at a deal. This one is a lot easier, I'm sure you can manage it."

Kaiba narrowed his eyes.

"It's simple: I'm working on a little project. Come with me and help me out, and I'll let the boy go. He's of no use to me."

"And if I refuse?" _Some how_, Seto thought, _agreeing to this was the equivalent of suicide. _

"I'll kill him", the dark-haired man stated bluntly. "And then I'll kill you. After you're dead, I'll take your company and find what I'm looking for myself."

"You're bluffing."

"Try me."

The two men stared each other down. It was clear that no matter what he chose; Katsuro Lawrence did not intend to let the CEO escape with his life. Seto briefly wondered whether it was worth attempting to grab his brother and run, throwing precaution to the wind. But Mokuba was in a tricky situation, and even though he himself did not come unarmed, chances were his opponent would pull out a gun before he could even get a hit in. Moreover, Katsuro probably had reinforcements. Incidentally, so did Seto Kaiba.

He had completely disregarded that part of Lawrence's instructions. As CEO of a powerful corporation, Kaiba knew very well that it was stupid to meet a known enemy alone unguarded. Although he didn't want to resort to it unless he knew for sure Mokuba was safe but considering his adversary's unpredictable actions, he was left with little choice. All he had to do was reach into his pocket and speed-dial his head of security to give the signal for his best team (which had the building surrounded already) to burst in.

"So? What will it be? Will you come with me, or will you refuse?" the older man asked. _Will you save your brother, or will you watch him die?_

"Neither." Kaiba said icily, and silently gave the signal.

"Oh?"

"I'm sick of playing your twisted little games. I am going to have you arrested for this. You'll tell me everything I want to know about your connection with my company once you're in custody."

At that moment, a team of four black-clad men rushed out of the shadows of the warehouse and surrounded the group on all sides, guns drawn.

"Don't move!" the leader of the squad barked loudly in warning. Kaiba immediately recognized him as the chief of security for KC, Makino Hirotame. Seeing him and the rest of KC's best security team was a relief, to say the least.

Katsuro, to Kaiba's surprise, looked strangely composed. It was as if he didn't even acknowledge that the guards came in. He still stood with his arms crossed and looked at Seto with the same patronizing gaze, making his blood boil. His henchman didn't move. It was disquieting.

"So you refuse, then?" He simply asked. Kaiba flinched and answered the only way he knew how.

"Hirotame- arrest him,"

* * *

**A/N-** Yeah, so it took like two months to put this chapter up. *sigh* But to make up for it, it's a long one. It was… delayed… because it was hard to write and I'm still not very happy with it. It's difficult in that it sets up the next chapter which sets up the entire plot of the story. That one should be up soon enough; I already have half of it written.

Anyways, please review! It's hard to write without motivation and if you want me to continue this, please tell me so.

Thank you reviewers Labyrinth of chaos, Se-tar, and JuubiOokami!


	11. Chapter 10

Disclaimer- I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. This is purely a fan-made story.

* * *

Chapter 10

_Wednesday, June 17__th__, 12:30 am_

_Pier 30, Domino City docks_

To his astonishment, nobody moved. Kaiba shot a curious glance at his underling. If anything, he had lowered his weapon. The growing uneasy feeling in his gut tripled.

"I gave you an order! What are you—"

"Hirotame," Lawrence interrupted calmly as his henchman pointed his gun straight at the teen and his brother, "If you will."

"I'm sorry, Kaiba-sama," Makino Hirotame said with his usual gruff voice and trained his weapon on his employer. Silently, his team followed suit.

"What the…hell?" Seto looked around in disbelief. His chief of security stared back unapologetically, "Why? You… traitor. You've watched my back ever since I took control and now… now you betray me? How could this be…?"

The former employee didn't reply. Once again, Kaiba was at a loss. No matter which way he looked at it, his men have literally turned against him.

"It's rather simply, really," Lawrence explained, "Hirotame has been working for me for quite a while now—even longer than he was for you."

"Is that true?" Seto shot the chief an accusing look. He nodded almost unnoticeably. At that moment a sudden realization hit him like a ton of bricks.

"As you can guess, I've been keeping tabs on you and your company," Lawrence continued, well aware of his captive's distress, "I've had a number of men under my control working for you for quite some time. You understand what this means, of course."

Oh, he understood very well. The implications were horrifying. Hirotame was one of the first people he hired as CEO of Kaiba Corp. He was chosen not only because of his reputation as a superb officer but also for his lack of connections to the old regime. If his chief of security was actually working for a malignant third party, then potentially the entire company was compromised. For all he knew, all the technology that has been coming out of Kaiba Corp in the last three years has been combed through by another entity with an unfriendly agenda. Anybody working for him could potentially be one of Lawrence's men: The accountants who watch over the finances, the engineers who keep the company running, and the people who keep him and his brother safe—

_Whoa, back up!_ The explosion at the mansion: That wasn't done by someone on the outside. Nobody saw it coming. It was triggered deliberately by someone who worked inside the building: somebody who the Kaiba brothers _trusted _in their own _home_.

Seto wanted to yell out in frustration. But he didn't. He stood completely still as the magnitude of the situation sunk in. A wave of guilt washed over him as he looked down at his brother's unconscious form still in the hands of his enemy; it felt like a led weight in his stomach dragging him down. He felt it before: once when his plan to escape the hopelessness of orphanage life backfired and landed him into an even more miserable situation and a second time when he almost lost his chance to rescue his sibling back in Duelist Kingdom.

It was the crippling feeling of failure. Failure to keep his family safe. Failure to protect the only person he ever cared about from harm.

"What do you want from me?" the teen uttered.

"I've already told you, I want KC-4."

"I don't—"

"Save your breath. I know all about your involvement in the project," Lawrence drawled, "Your stepfather taught you well. KC-4, was, in fact, a test of that knowledge. You were the one who came up with the idea for it, as well as the one who designed it."

_How could he know that? None of Gozaburo's closest associates knew the weapon was created by their boss's adopted son! _

"Then you should also know I destroyed it as soon as I seized power," Kaiba pointed out.

Katsuro smirked, "All I know is if you managed to build it before, you could do it again."

"You want me to recreate it…from memory…?" the brown-haired man was skeptical.

Lawrence nodded. It wasn't a request, it was an order. That much was clear considering all the guns pointed in his direction. However, the young CEO was reluctant to go along with the dark-haired man's wishes. It wasn't in his nature to bend to the will of others and KC-4 was far too powerful to fall into unfriendly hands. But the boy knew Lawrence expected that he wouldn't fully cooperate. It wasn't just his own life on the line.

"So, what will it be?" he asked.

"I'll help you," Kaiba started, weighing his options, "But only if you let Mokuba go unharmed."

"He'll be returned to the main KC building," his adversary answered, pleased, "As long as you do what I ask, no harm will come to him. Now, give me your gun."

Kaiba grimaced and reached into his coat to fetch it. He brought along the handgun just in case, but now it was useless. Apparently, Lawrence wasn't going to take any chances. As soon as he handed it to him, the guards lowered their weapons.

"I'll need both of your lockets too."

"Why?" Seto asked warily.

"So your brother has something to find when he comes looking." Lawrence answered, "It would be a problem if he tried to come after you. But if he thinks there's nothing to look for… well, let's just say I'm not unfamiliar with faking one's death."

"Mokuba won't buy it."

"We'll see about that," Lawrence replied and Seto tentatively retrieved the two chains from his neck. As he handed them over, he noticed a sly glint in the other man's eyes. Letting go, the teen briefly wondered what he was getting himself into. But what's done is done; there was no turning back now.

Lawrence clutched the lockets in his left hand by the chain letting the two cards clatter together. Next, he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a switchblade. The dull lights of the warehouse reflected off of the knife's smooth surface as he flipped it open.

"Your left hand, Kaiba."

Wordlessly, Seto complied.

* * *

_Wednesday, June 17__th__, 1:20 am_

_Pier 30, Domino City docks_

Mokuba Kaiba awoke to the smell of salty ocean air and the warmth of strong arms holding him tightly. As soon as he opened his eyes, he wished he hadn't; his head throbbed and his vision was blurry. The boy groaned and shut his eyes from the splitting headache.

"He's awake!" A voice called to someone in the distance but the younger Kaiba couldn't register it in his head.

"Seto?" he asked in barely a whisper.

"Sorry, kid," the one holding him answered. His voice was low, gruff, but sympathetic and definitely not the voice of his brother, "But don't worry, you're safe now."

_Safe? What did that mean?_ Mokuba pondered and tried to remember. His memory was fuzzy, much like his vision. Suddenly, an image surfaced in his head. It was of a man: tall, ominous, and familiar. Instinctively, his eyes flew open and he bolted upright, gasping. A wave of fear seized him. _Seto is in terrible danger!_

"I have to—" The boy started but cut off as another wave of pain overtook him. He clutched his head and steadied his breathing.

"Calm down. You're in no condition to do anything right now," the man holding him up reassured him. Mokuba looked up at him. He recognized him as one of his brother's bodyguards.

"Hirotame?"

The guard nodded. His vision focusing, Mokuba looked around what appeared to be the city docks. He was sitting on cold cement by a large warehouse. It was night; the place was deserted save for several other KC security guards prowling the area.

"What happened?" The VP of Kaiba Corp asked whilst standing up with the help of the guard.

"You were drugged," he replied somberly. "Kaiba-sama ordered me to get you to a safe place while—" Hirotame paused, hesitating.

"Where is he?" Mokuba asked, sensing the man's discomfort. A feeling of dread came over him and he glanced towards the ocean, "Where is my brother?"

"You were kidnapped. Kaiba-sama confronted the man who did it and managed to get you back. Like I said, he ordered me to get you away and faced that man on his own." the guard continued, avoiding the question.

Mokuba listened with unease. On of the other guards was examining something that was lying by the very edge of the pier: something small and shiny. The young Kaiba stumbled towards it as if in a trance.

"There was a fight, but that man had your brother cornered. We were pinned down by his men, we couldn't get near them. I couldn't stop him…" Hirotame trailed off and Mokuba's anxiety tripled.

As he got closer to the water, he recognized the object right away. It was terrifyingly familiar and made him instinctively reach for his neck. Feeling nothing there, the thirteen-year-old rushed towards the metal duel monster's card lying on the cement ground. The guard stepped back as he knelt down and picked it up. Already undone, it opened easily in the palm of his hand. Sure enough, the same smiling face in the photo that used to hang around his neck stared up at him. _My locket?_

There was a dark stain on the glass of the photo and as Mokuba went to wipe the liquid off, he noticed that the card was covered in it. Realization hit him and he almost dropped it impulsively.

"Mokuba-sama?" the bodyguard came up behind him but the young Kaiba didn't turn around. Instead, he stood still numb from shock. By the water's edge, the concrete was covered with splotches of the same substance.

It was blood.

* * *

**A/N-** Well, this turned out to be a long one as well, although I didn't expect it to. I don't know when you should be expecting the next chapter. But hopefully it will be written soon. So many of my favorite anime and manga series are on hiatus right now because of the holidays that I've resorted to fanfiction to get my daily dose. YGOTAS not having new episodes for a while doesn't help either. =(

As always, many thanks to JuubiOokami, se-tar, labyrinth of chaos, and NightmareTroubador for the reviews!

Please leave a review if you love it/hate it/want to tell me how to improve!


	12. Chapter 11

Disclaimer- I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. This is purely a fan-made story.

**A/N-** Wow! I didn't give up on this fic? What? I'm actually continuing it for at least a little while during summer vacation. I don't guarantee I will complete it, though. It's kind of slow at this point.

PREVIOUSLY TITLED- 'ONE MORE SON'! I changed the name. I like this one better and it fits better. Can I do that? I'm the author, of course I can.

* * *

Chapter 11

_Wednesday, June 17  
_

_OI Office Complex, Domino City_

"Can you run these up to the CEO's office?" asked Takahiro Takeda indicating the massive stack of manila folders on the desk. His assistant grimaced slightly but nodded and he looked at her with pity, "Sorry, to make you run around so much."

"No problem. I'm here to help, after all," Anzu Mazaki replied sweetly and brushed away a stray strand of hair from her face.

Her employer smiled and left to get back to his work, leaving the girl alone in the office. The room was open and well-lit. Rows of cabinets lined the blank walls and a single desk stood in the middle. It was Anzu's workplace: a computer, a telephone, and stacks of files and papers occupied the table. She had made sure everything was properly organized and tidy.

It was her third day working for Takahiro Takeda. The man turned out to be a manager and engineer at Oshiro Industries, the largest weapons-making firm in Domino city. He hired the teen because he needed extra help filing, keeping track of meeting times and appointments, and generally getting tasks done that would otherwise detract from his busy schedule. After the CEO Hisao Oshiro died, Takeda needed the assistance.

After quickly checking to see if all the figures on the computer screen lined up, Anzu picked up the ominous-looking stack of folders and headed towards the door. To be completely honest, the girl never imagined herself working at an office. It wasn't particularly exciting work but the pay was excellent and her employer was a kind and charismatic person.

Takeda was a hard-working and driven man. He was responsible and reliable as an employer and (from what Anzu observed) a respected manager. He loved his job and aimed to help the company succeed in any way that he could. He was also a family man and it made Anzu smile every time she saw the photographs of the Takeda family on his desk. There was something about the man that made her want to do the best she could in order to make his work easier on him.

This time, her tasks took her up eight floors to the CEO's office.

* * *

_Wednesday, June 17  
_

_Kaiba Corp Main Office, Domino City_

After a sleepless night and an even more hectic morning, Mokuba Kaiba retired to the CEO's office just as he always has every day after school. Today, however, he found it unnaturally quiet and depressingly empty. Isono followed him in.

"I am the Vice President. It's my responsibility to watch the company when the president is… away," he stated, pausing before hesitantly taking a seat at the CEO's desk.

The man didn't leave his side since the boy arrived at the KC building in the middle of the night escorted by several body guards. He was visibly shaken but unharmed.

It wasn't until the vice president dismissed the guards that he recounted the events of that evening. The younger Kaiba told Isono the details of his sudden kidnapping and told him about the man who called himself Katsuro Lawrence. To Isono, the man's physically description and the name was unfamiliar however the VP insisted that it was imperative that he was found. Mokuba wanted him arrested as a prime suspect in the disappearance of Seto Kaiba.

When Isono heard of the young CEO's death from Hirotame, he could scarcely believe it. It seemed impossible that the billionaire could die and leave his kid brother without a family to go home to. However, the evidence was undeniable. There were no other clues to follow, no other leads.

* * *

_Wednesday, June 17  
_

_OI Office Complex, Domino City_

Anzu couldn't believe what she just heard. It didn't sound… right, she supposed. Not right at all. The girl plopped down into her office chair to catch her breath.

Moments ago, she walked into the CEO's office to drop off a few files. To her surprise, the secretary was absent and the door to the main office was slightly ajar. Not wanting to be a bother, Anzu walked over to the reception desk and set the files down on the desk. Just as she turned around to leave, she heard a name said on the other side of the door that she never expected to hear in such a place. _Kaiba?_

As she crept closer to the doorway, the sound of the conversation got louder, clearer. In the back of her mind, the girl recognized that listening in to the CEO's private meetings was not the best idea she's ever had, but her curiosity was too strong to just walk out and forget about this.

"…was a success?" she heard a gruff voice speaking. Anzu guessed it was Takuma Satō, the CEO, but having never heard the man speak in person, she wasn't quite sure. There was some shuffling, then another male voice responded.

"Everything is fine on my end," The second voice was smoother, and less scratchy. It probably belonged to a much younger individual. "As long as you keep up you part of the bargain, we can still make this work."

"That's not what I meant," the first man snapped, clearly irritated by the other's calm reply. "How can I trust that everything will go smoothly when dealing with that boy? The Kaiba's aren't to be trusted."

"Really, you have no faith in me. I told you everything is going well. Be patient."

There was an audible 'humph' and then the sound of movement and footsteps coming closer. Anzu took it as her queue to leave and in a flurry of panic bolted for the exit.

Now, back at her little desk, the brunette was able to recollect her thoughts and digest what she heard. Unfortunately, she came up with more questions than answers. Kaiba was working with OI, a weapons manufacturing company? Kaiba wasn't the most virtuous of people, but didn't he say he decided to make toys, not weapons like his father did? Does this have anything to do with the bombing? Did she hear that conversation clearly?

"Is there something wrong? You look startled," Takeda's voice broke her trance. She looked up at him and shook her head.

"No, everything's fine."

"Alright," he didn't look convinced, "If you're done with the filing, then you can go home. It's almost five anyways."

Anzu thanked the man and started to pack up. Whatever is up with Kaiba, she will discuss it with Yugi and the guys tonight.

* * *

**A/N- **Yeah, it's a filler chapter. Just like so many other ones. It will be slow for another couple of chapters but I'm getting to the action, I swear. I just need to set it up so it makes sense.

Thank you everybody that read and reviewed this fic while it was on hiatus! I love you guys!


	13. Chapter 12

Disclaimer- I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. This is purely a fan-made story.

**A/N- **I changed the fic to "M". I think it fits better.

* * *

Chapter 12

_Wednesday, June 17__th__, 11:00 pm_

_Streets of Domino City_

It was raining. Cold droplets fell rhythmically down from the night sky onto the quiet city streets below soaking the cars, the buildings, and any straggler left out in the open. Even as the cold water soaked through his clothes and drenched his unruly hair, Mokuba didn't bother to take shelter. He kept running. He was aware of the rain dripping down his face and blurring his vision. Or were those tears? He didn't know anymore. It didn't matter. He kept running.

The streets were empty. Maybe if someone was out, they would have stopped him, he thought. It wasn't right for a young kid like him to be running around the city late at night. Maybe they would ask him where his parents were. Mokuba scoffed at the though. Maybe they would think he was running away. Was that what he was doing? Impossible. There was nowhere to run away _from_. Maybe—

This was stupid. There was nobody out. There was nobody to take his hand and tell him that it'll all be okay. 'Maybes' and other silly daydreams weren't going to help him. 'Maybes' only made him more depressed. Maybe he wasn't as alone as he felt. Maybe this was a dream. Maybe his brother was still alive. _See?_ His conscience told him. 'Maybes' are ridiculous._ Stop deluding yourself!_

This made his sob even harder. Suddenly, he felt his foot slip in a puddle on the sidewalk. He felt himself falling and instinctively reached out with his hands to soften the fall. He fell hard, his momentum sending him slipping across the rough paved surface and leaving him sprawled face down on the wet ground. He lay still for a few seconds before pushing himself off of the ground. Still in shock from the unexpected fall, he braced himself against the nearest wall with his right hand and tried to stand. The fatigue from his desperate run across the city finally caught up with him however and he gave up opting to sit on the sidewalk instead. He leaned against the wall with his arms around his knees tucked close to his chest. His hands and elbows were bruised and bloody but he hardly felt any pain.

After a few minutes of catching his breath, the raven-haired boy looked up with weary eyes to determine were he was. Strangely enough, the neighborhood was familiar. Even with the rain coming down like a sheet he could still make out the characteristic shape of the building across the street. He cursed. Living with Seto taught the boy a lot and unfortunately that also meant picking up on some less than appropriate language. After all, he wasn't Mokuba's mother. Seto had his own set of rules. Mokuba smiled at the memory.

"_Swear when you need to swear! Especially if it's appropriate!"_

"_But Seto, you swear all the time."_

"_For me, it's always appropriate!"_

Needless to say, living with the teen taught him more expletives than he would admit to knowing and then some.

A shiver sent Mokuba out of his trance and suddenly he was faced with the cold reality of the present. He felt the wet cold night air chilling him to the bones and felt the pain of the scrapes on his hands. His feet had subconsciously led him to the Kame Game Shop. The lights in the little house were still on and blazing invitingly through the shroud of endless rain. And yet, Mokuba didn't move a muscle. _Seto wouldn't want me to be here._ He was overcome with a strange sense of _déjà vu… _

One time, a long time ago, he ran here on a rainy night much like this one. He was greeted with a dry blanket and a warm cup of hot chocolate to drink. He convinced the gang to help rescue his brother and they helped him. They really did.

But now there was no one to rescue, no one to help.

Suddenly he felt ashamed. Why did he come here? What did he think he was going to find here? Comfort? A shoulder to cry on? What?

A wave of guilt crashed over him and self doubt took over his thoughts. Who was he to seek comfort from people who his brother repeatedly insulted and mistreated? They had no reason to help him. Seto made it obvious that Yugi and the gang were never his friends and never will be. As far as he knew, that feeling was mutual. Jonouchi made that obnoxiously clear every chance he got. What would he say if Mokuba revealed the truth about his brother?

"_Good riddance. It's about time that bastard got what he deserved."_

Maybe if his brother at least bothered to be nice to his classmates, Mokuba wouldn't be so entirely alone. That thought angered the boy immensely. His temper flared up. All this time he put his trust into his brother. He stayed loyal to him and only him even when his own peers isolated and bullied him for his family connections. Nobody wanted to be friends with spoiled Kaiba brat, they were too afraid. Mokuba didn't have anybody except his brother. Suddenly he hated the teen more than anything else in the world. Why did Seto have to be such an anti-social asshole? Didn't he realize how much it was hurting him? And now he was gone and Mokuba was alone and it was ALL HIS FAULT!

Mokuba jumped up with a renewed vigor. He was angry and ashamed of himself and the only person he could blame for all of it was long gone where he couldn't follow. He wanted to scream but instead he turned around and punched the wall behind him. It did nothing to sooth his frustration and the pain in his hand after the blow only made him angrier.

And then, there was the sudden pressure of a hand on his shoulder. The warm touch made him flinch and his eyes grow wide.

"Set—," he began but the name died on his lips when he turned around.

"Mokuba?" Yugi asked, holding an umbrella over the two of them. The younger boy was drenched and shaking from the cold. His wide eyes stared up at the teen, lost and miserable, "What are you doing out here? Are you okay?"

Mokuba looked down at the ground and didn't answer.

"Come on, let's go inside. You'll get sick out here," the older boy took his arm and led him across the empty street towards the house, "I saw you from the window. What happened? Come on, the gang's here. We were all worried about you…"

The younger Kaiba followed robotically, tired and numb from more than just the cold. The teen's rambling questions fell on deaf ears.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Yugi found himself on the couch on the living room. Beside him, Mokuba sat in dry clothes (Yugi's were the only ones that somewhat fit) and wrapped up in a blanket with a cup of hot chocolate within his reach. Anzu sat on the couch by him whispered comforting words while carefully treating the scratches on his arms and legs with ointment. Jonouchi and Honda gathered around at a distance.

"_Give him some room_," the girl had instructed when the gang launched at the boy with questions and worried encouragements since none of them knew what to make of the abnormally silent Kaiba.

The gang had gotten together that night like they did often. Anzu had explained to them what she overheard at work, yet none of them knew what to make of it. As much as Yugi liked to think that Kaiba wasn't really a bad person, he was still a pretty ruthless businessman. It was obvious that KC's been in trouble lately and if these shady connections with Oshiro Inc. are what put Mokuba in danger, then is was certainly something to worry about.

"See?" Anzu said, smiling up at him while applying the last band aid, "It's not that bad. It'll be okay."

"Why?" Mokuba whispered hoarsely.

"Why what?" the brunette asked, surprised yet relieved to hear him talking.

"Why are you doing this? Why are you helping me? Why?" he looked up anxiously at the row of concerned faces hovering near. Yugi was taken aback. The preteen looked genuinely confused. It was worrying.

"Mokuba," Jonouchi groaned. He almost sounded almost disappointed.

"We're your friends, Mokuba," Yugi clarified, shooting the blond a look.

"I thought ya'd have realized that by now, after all the stuff we've been through together."

"This is what friends are for," Anzu added, smiling warmly.

Mokuba grew silent for a moment once again as if contemplating whether to trust their answer.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Yugi had to keep from letting out a sigh of relief. Mokuba was usually so trusting and so sure of himself. Seeing him so disheartened reminded the teen of himself from not too long ago. However, he had already learned his lesson, he had got his wish. Yes, this is what it's like to have friends. What could have happened to the boy for him to suddenly doubt that?

"So what were you doing out in the rain on your own?" he asked, "We heard about what happened at the mansion — are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," the boy replied simply, looking down at the ground.

"Your brother was looking for you," Yugi continued, "Does he know you're here?"

"I— It doesn't matter. He's gone."

Yugi glanced over to Anzu. She looked just as perplexed as he was.

"Ya mean moneybags got 'emself in trouble with one of those virtual reality things again?" Jonouchi exclaimed suddenly, crossing his hands over his chest, "don't tell me ya want us to go rescue him again—"

"No. No, you don't understand," Mokuba cut him off, shaking his head, "We can't— I can't— He's _gone_. I was unconscious, I couldn't…"

"Calm down, Mokuba," Yugi put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. The younger boy was close to tears, "What do you mean he's _gone_?"

"He's… " Mokuba wiped his eyes and slowly met the eyes of the spiky haired teen, "Seto's dead."

* * *

**A/N-** Yes, I'm not dead. It's a completely emotion-based chapter. I'm sorry if that's not your cup of tea, but one of my main goals for the fic is to represent Mokuba as a dynamic, believable, mature youth. He's older and smarter than he looks but he has to deal with a bunch of shit. The next chapter will have Kaiba in it, I promise. (If I actually get around to writing it, lol)

This chapter is kind inspired by 'The Way it was Meant to Be" by Eilonnwy. It's inspirational because it's written so well and she is such a good storyteller! If you like Avatar and angsty whumpy Zuko fics, check it out and leave a review for her to update it. I really want to know what happens next. =]


	14. Chapter 13

Disclaimer- I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. This is purely a fan-made story.

* * *

Chapter 13

_Wednesday, June 17__th__, 3:00 am_

_Location Unknown_

Once again Seto found himself in a small unmarked room having no idea where he was. After his confrontation with Katsuro, he was taken by helicopter to some undisclosed location hours away from Domino City. Unable to see outside, he had no idea whether he was in China, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, or half way around the world. It was an old trick, Kaiba thought; his enemy was hoping to disorient him, to force him to relinquish a certain amount of control. By keeping him in the dark (almost literally), he would be unable to help himself escape.

When they finally landed in a large enclosed hanger, Katsuro and his men led him out of the helicopter through a series of winding corridors and stopped at a random unmarked door leading to an ordinary room that Seto decided looked like nothing more than a jail cell. In reality, it resembled the guest rooms on his blimp during the Battle City Tournament. It contained a modest bed, a desk and chair, and another door which he assumed led to a bathroom. The guards shoved him inside and left.

"I hope you like your accommodations," Katsuro said, casually leaning against the doorframe with his hands crossed. Kaiba turned towards him and glared.

"You can't keep me here. You're stupid to think I'm just going to play along."

"You don't exactly have a choice. You can't escape this place. You're welcome to try if you like, but don't expect to get very far."

"We'll see about that."

"Just don't forget that your brother's life is in my hands," he continued calmly, "Anything you do may reflect badly on him. I assume your assistant Isono will assign Hirotame to watch out for him from now on. You should understand what that means."

"You won't be able to fool my brother, you know. He'll figure it out."

"And then what?" Lawrence replied, condescendingly, "Who is going to listen? Last I checked, you don't have any friends in high places. Hell, any friends at all. I'll make sure your PR department will do everything they can to make the world believe everything is fine. Nobody will even know you're gone. Just face it, there's nothing you can do."

Kaiba scowled. As much as he hated to admit it, there was some truth in that. But it wasn't the first time he was betrayed by his company and left to fend for himself. He would just have to figure out a plan to get back in control on his own.

"So as far as I'm concerned, starting tomorrow you'll be working for me. I know that's not something you're accustomed to, but you'll just have to get used to it."

With that, the dark-haired man left and locked the door leaving Kaiba alone to ponder his predicament and wonder who, out of all the incompetent bastards in PR, had betrayed him. For the umpteenth time that night, he cursed himself for being caught so easily.

* * *

That morning, Lawrence brought his prisoner into a huge chamber filled with computer screens, flashing lights, and a lot of highly complex machinery. The level of technology was highly advanced; it rivaled that of Kaiba Corp's most elaborate computer systems. Much to the teenager's surprise, a few scientists shuffled around checking machines or working on computers and paid little attention to the two newcomers. From the looks of it, Seto figured he was most likely in a large research complex of some sort like that on Alcatraz Island.

"As you can probably guess, this is a weapons development facility," Katsuro explained, "Here the researchers have been designing and testing new technology, but unfortunately, everything they have come up with thus far is nothing compared to what you have to offer. I trust you will find this facility perfect for recreating it."

"KC-4," Kaiba stated. He never thought he'd hear that name again. _Most of my enemies are after my hologram technology…_

"That's right. Kaiba Corporation's classified project number four," the black-haired man continued, "It was supposed to be the next trump card for your company before you completely reconfigured it into a gaming company. It's too bad; it would have made Kaiba Corp a legend in innovative weapons tech."

The young CEO stared at him with a mix of hatred and disbelief as he went on.

"From what I know, it was series of highly-advanced probes that could latch on to any ordinary satellite and turn it into a weapon capable of firing on anywhere on earth from orbit. In other words, laser technology."

"How do you know all this—?" Kaiba suddenly interjected. He had been so careful not to let that information fall into the wrong hands. Katsuro merely smiled in response, enjoy knowing that he knew something that the other did not. That only angered the teen more, "Tell me!"

"Your father told me," he stated calmly.

"If Gozaburo so much as met with you, I would have known about it!"

"There are a lot of things about your father's company that you don't know about," Lawrence replied in a darker tone, "Did you honestly believe he told you everything? Or maybe, you thought you were clever enough to figure out all his secrets on your own?"

Seto bit back a retort.

"Gozaburo was a driven man. He was after more than just profit, but as a sixteen-year-old, you were too naïve to fully comprehend how far he would go to get what he wanted."

"I never underestimated him!" Kaiba snapped. Naïve again? He was tired of being treated like a child.

"Oh? So when you invented the hologram system for Duel Monsters you really expected him to let you use it for an innocent game? Or even that he would dismiss it as a useless technology? Were you kidding yourself?"

"What?" Seto hesitated. _Was he referring to…?_ He remembered all too well the day when he finally confronted his stepfather about his new invention. After all, Noah even took the liberty of showing it to him again back in the virtual world. That was the day he decided he had to defeat his stepfather once and for all by taking the company for himself if he was ever going to be able to fulfill his and Mokuba's dream of building Kaiba Land.

"_This little game of yours is of no use to me," Gozaburo stated gruffly, not bothering to even look up from his papers at the furious young teen in his office. _

"_Open your eyes! My software could make this company billions of dollars!" argued the white-clad boy. _

"_That's enough! We don't make children's toys here! Kaiba Corp is my company and we make vehicles for combat! Got that?" The tyrant stood up sharply and flung the papers in his hands at his future successor. The light from the window cast a bright glare that turned the man into an ominous silhouette that towered over the boy, "Now listen to me; if you're going to take over this company some day, you'll have to forget about your games. I adopted you so you can learn my family business: the business of fighting battles, defeating your enemies, and rising to ultimate power!"_

Looking back on it now, as much as he didn't want to admit it, Gozaburo would have taken advantage of anything that would have helped him succeed. The man never was sane to begin with, Seto thought. So was he really that foolish back then?

"When you invented it, did you even think about how it could have been used for war?"

"I stopped him."

"Tch," Katsuro sneered, "And look where it got you."

Kaiba looked away and clenched his fists, his hands trembling as he tried to hold back his anger. He himself didn't know whether it was because he was itching to prove the bastard wrong, or whether deep down he saw truth in his enemy's taunts. So many years after his death, his stepfather shouldn't have such a strong hold on him.

"This complex should be more than enough for you to complete the designs I've asked of you," added the older man and started walking away, motioning for his guards to watch the doors after he left, "I have this place put under tight surveillance so don't try anything suspicious. I'll know. You have two weeks."

_

* * *

Wednesday, June 17__th__, 4:00pm_

_OI Corporate Office_

Takuma Satō stood by the large window of his office overlooking the financial district of Domino city. The new CEO was a stout older gentleman in his fifties. Years of dealing with trying business scandals and disappointments had aged him and given him a harsh, brutal look that intimidated his rivals and gained him respect in his field. His merciless dark eyes scanned the horizon and narrowed as he caught sight of the gaudy glass Kaiba Corp office building several blocks away. No matter where he was, it stood out and taunted him, a cruel reminder of KC's dominance over Domino City. _Not for long_, the man reassured himself.

"Mr. Satō, there is a man here to see you," his secretary, called from the doorway.

"Show him in. And leave us. Take a lunch break, whatever." Satō replied, not turning around. _Ah, right on time._ His correspondent was many things, one of them being punctual; almost annoyingly secretary nodded and left only to be replaced by the young black-haired man he was waiting for.

"Enjoying your new office?" Katsuro Lawrence asked in his usual insincere tone that the businessman had grown accustomed to over the many years of their partnership.

"The view could be better," he scoffed in reply.

"I see," the younger man walked over to the desk and leaned against it, "But I suppose you can't have everything."

"I will have everything once I have Kaiba Corp in my hands," Satō snarled bitterly and spun around to face the other.

"Patience, if won't be long now."

"Then I am right to assume that your presence here means that the mission was a success?"

"Everything is fine on my end. As long as you keep up you part of the bargain, we can still make this work."

"That's not what I meant," the man snapped, annoyed by Katsuro's calm reply. Sometimes he wondered how the man could sounds so careless when so much was at stake. "How can I trust that everything will go smoothly when dealing with that boy? The Kaiba's aren't to be trusted."

"Really, you have no faith in me. I told you everything is going well. Be _patient._"

"Humph," the older man turned away.

"Kaiba is stubborn. He will try to outsmart me but in the end, he will do as I say."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I know him. I understand how he thinks. He hasn't changed at all since he was a child; in fact, he's only gotten weaker. He will do anything to save his brother no matter the cost to everyone else. It is almost too easy to manipulate him into doing what I want."

"You better have everything under control. If anything goes wrong, it'll be on your head."

"Do you doubt my methods?"

"I'd rather just kill him and get it over with. Mind games are too risky," Satō replied and the other man chuckled quietly.

"Yes, Gozaburo failed when he tried to pit the two against each other. He underestimated their loyalty. However, I won't make the same mistake. That bond is what I'll use to bring them down. In then end, the boy will end up destroying himself. In order to ensure our total victory, you'll just have to trust that I know what I'm doing."

"Just promise me you'll have the weapons designs for me soon," The graying older man spat, still unconvinced. He turned back to glare at the familiar bright glass building with a look of intense loathing. A thorn in his side, "This whole company is made up of sentimental fools who don't what real power is all about. The sooner I get my hands on those blueprints, the sooner I can take control of this city and finally get my revenge on Seto Kaiba."

* * *

**A/N**- Wow, I'm just going to say right now- don't expect another chapter for a really long time. I've been experiencing horrible writer's block and running into a bunch of glaring plot holes that take forever to sort out.

Yes, that flashback is taken directly from the anime- is that even legal? I was debating for the longest time whether to use the dub or the sub because they are so different but the sub translation sucks and this one fits better (but makes Kaiba sound really dumb). Whatever, just go with it.

Anyways, thanks for being patient with me! And especially thank you everyone who reviewed or put this fic on their alerts list! It's flattering, helpful, and gives me motivation to write again! 3


	15. Chapter 14

A/N- So what is my excuse for not updating the past… year? I haven't given up on this fic, it's my favorite. It's so easy to write when I'm angsting. But since my life has been going pretty damn well, it's hard to work on something this depressing. I'm sure other writers would sympathize.

Disclaimer- I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. This is purely a fan-made story.

* * *

_The youngest Kaiba walked unhurriedly down the hallway on the second floor of the Kaiba Manor back to his room from the bathroom. He could hear muffled shouting coming from behind the thick wall to his left, but he ignored it. It was a daily occurrence. In fact, if there wasn't any yelling, it would strike him as odd. The noise died down after he passed the door to his step-father's study. Behind him, he heard the door open and close softly._

"_You're Mokuba Kaiba, aren't you?"_

"_Yes sir." The ten-year-old Mokuba replied instinctively, spinning around to regard the man who addressed him hesitantly, as if unsure whether it was he that was being spoken to. It was unexpected, to say the least. None of his step-father's other business partners ever so much as looked at him. _

"_It's a pleasure to meet you," stated the stranger, smiling slightly. It was a cold smile, the boy noted, as if he really didn't mean it at all. He eyed the newcomer briefly, before remembering his manners. Gozaburo was perfectly clear when explaining to him the rules of proper etiquette. You shouldn't stare. You shouldn't make eye contact. Preferably, you should stay out of everyone else's sight, too._

_The man was of tall height, probably as tall as the CEO. He had slicked-back coal black hair and a long, pointed face. His face would have seemed youthful if not for the few wrinkles lining his eyes and forehead, yet, overall he looked to be in his late thirties. Dressed in a simple clean suit, he looked like the rest of Gozaburo's associates. However, it was his eyes that sent a shiver down the boy's back. They were pitch black. Black, cold and merciless. Seto had always prided his brother on his keen judge of character, and if his gut feeling was any indication, this man was not to be trusted. _

"_Where is your brother, Mokuba?" he asked. His brother—of course. For a second, the raven-haired boy felt slightly dejected. He shouldn't have got his hopes up. Of course nobody would pay any attention to him. Always Seto. And then he remembered the warning sirens going off in his mind and suddenly realized that he really didn't want any of this man's attention and somehow he would rather keep Seto away from him, too._

"_I don't know," he lied._

"_Why don't you go and fetch him," the dark-eyed man ordered, seeing straight through the lie. "Your father wants to see him personally."_

"_I don't—" Mokuba started, but stopped as the stranger shot him an un-amused look. _

"_Something tells me he doesn't want to be kept waiting. It would be a terrible if your brother got in trouble for being late." He didn't even bother hiding the sarcasm in his voice. As if cared about his brother's well-being at all. _

_The youngest Kaiba winced and nodded reluctantly, understanding. He kept his head low to hide his reddening face. It was embarrassing, being caught in a lie so easily. Seto kept trying to teach him how to lie convincingly, but those lessons always failed. _You show your emotions too clearly in your eyes. I can always read them,_ he said. Flustered, ashamed and unable to stand being in the man's presence much longer, he scurried off to Seto's room without thinking._

_That night, Seto stumbled into his room, bruised and bleeding._

"_He was in a bad mood today. Usually I can tell, but now—I don't even know why," his brother stated dispassionately, trying to hide the pain. _

_Mokuba refused to meet his eyes and said nothing. _

* * *

_Thursday, June 18th, 5:00 am_

_Hotel, not far from Kaiba Corp _

"I remember!" Mokuba Kaiba, the current head of Kaiba Corporation, sat up in bed, suddenly wide awake. The hotel room around him was dark, quiet and unsympathetic to his untimely epiphany. "I remember," he repeated to himself, quietly now, because no one else was listening.

* * *

_Thursday, June 18th, 11:00 am_

_Downtown Domino City_

"So do you think Mokuba found out anything about his brother being missing?" Yugi asked the brunette girl walking side by side with him as they made their way through downtown Domino City towards the KC headquarters. The young Kaiba called the teen early in the morning, instructing them to meet him at the office. He sounded anxious and distracted on the phone and his words were vague at best. All he said was that they had to talk and that it was important.

"Probably," Anzu replied as they stopped at a pedestrian crossing. "He has all the technology of Kaiba Corp at his disposal. I'm sure if anyone can figure out what happened to Kaiba, it would be him. But…" she trailed off.

"But maybe not," the spiky-haired teen finished her sentence. "Mokuba said there was no trace of him. They searched the docks and the coast around the city and it turned up nothing. There is no word from him either. If he was alive, wouldn't he try to contact Mokuba, at least, to tell him not to worry?"

"I'm not so sure. What bothers me is that he said that the bodyguards that were supposed to be covering Kaiba said that they saw him… go down," the girl replied. "They wouldn't lie, would they?"

Yugi sighed. "I don't know. Kaiba always said not to trust anybody. But according to his brother, those men where some of the oldest KC employees. They were like Isono, very loyal to their boss."

"I still find it suspicious." The girl stated as they crossed the street and headed up the road towards the very center of town. The KC building was in sight, looming over the other sky scarpers as usual, as if nothing has changed. "I overhear the CEO of the biggest weapons manufacturer in Japan talking about the guy and that night we find out that he's dead? It doesn't add up." Anzu had told her friends all about her unexpected adventure listening in to her manager's boss's devious conversation. Jonouchi was quick to suggest that it must mean that the two were in league with each other. After all, Kaiba Corp "hasn't been doing too hot" and Kaiba does have a history working with military technology. He wouldn't put it past the duelist to return to his father's old ways in order to earn some more cash. Yugi was less enthusiastic about his best friend's theory, but after Mokuba's sudden appearance soaking wet and shaking at the front of the Kame Game Shop, nobody had any idea what to think.

"First the bombing at the mansion and then Kaiba's stubborn rush to find his brother alone… He went in there without anyone else's help. He was alone. So, the bodyguards' story, at least, adds up. Mokuba said it himself," the teen winced at the memory. The raven-haired boy was breaking down in front of them as he tried to explain the situation to them back at his house, "How many times has someone tried to get to Kaiba by threatening his brother? Maybe this time, they weren't after his money or his status as a duelist."

"They were after his life? Like… revenge?"

Yugi nodded. "But I don't know. I can't be sure."

"I just can't believe it," Anzu looked down at the ground sadly. They had reached the entrance to the gigantic office building, "It was so sudden. I can't imagine Kaiba going down so easily."

"Me neither. Whatever Mokuba wants to talk to us about, we can't lose hope, especially for his sake." Yugi said, while looking at her meaningfully. She looked up, meeting his deep purple eyes. As always, they were full of warmth and confidence, despite the sorrow lurking beneath the surface. His gaze gave her strength. She smiled.

"I know. He needs someone there for him right now. We can do that, at least."

A couple minutes later, they went up to the highest floor on the elevator and walked into the CEO's office. Entering the clean, spacious room was a surreal experience for the teen. It was as if everything was normal and as it always was. The large office chair behind Kaiba's impressive mahogany desk was turned away from the pair, facing the window. It may has well have been the CEO himself sitting there, waiting for them. Instead, it swung around to reveal a frazzled-looking Mokuba. He quickly jumped from the chair and ran up to hug the both of them.

"Yugi! Anzu! You came!"

"Nice to see you too, Mokuba," Anzu replied warmly, "How are you doing?"

The boy sighed, "Well, as well as can be, I guess. I've taken over as the head of the company now and it's a mess."

"Can you handle everything on your own?" Yugi asked, surprised. "It seems like a lot of work."

"Yeah, well, Seto did try to de everything he possibly could himself, you know how he is. But I have plenty of experience doing this from before; Seto taught me. But I've just been trying to keep normal operations running smoothly but had to cancel any new projects he was starting on. Isono and I agreed that we are just going to try to convince the staff and the stockholders that the CEO is on vacation and that I'm taking over temporarily until he gets back."

"Oh," Yugi almost asked what he'll do when the public gets suspicious, but he didn't. He wasn't going to bring up the chance that this boy's brother wasn't returning any time soon. It was obvious that he still clung to the chance that Kaiba was out there somewhere and would come back like he always did.

"So what did you want to talk to us about, Mokuba?" Anzu saved him from his train of thought.

"Right!" Mokuba's expression suddenly turned serious. He motioned them to sit down and he came around to sit at his brother's desk, "Remember I told you that while I was being held hostage, it was by this scary-looking man I found familiar?"

"Yeah. The black-haired man? You think he was in charge?"

"He said his name was Katsuro Lawrence. It's obviously a fake name, but it's a start," the young teen continued. "But, I remembered something. I know where I've seen him before."

"Really? That's good," said Anzu.

"I don't know about that," Mokuba stated despondently, "He worked with Gozaburo."

"Yugi paused, thinking. "I can't say I'm surprised."

"True," Mokuba acquiesced, "Suits like the Big 5 are always after my brother. But that's the thing. This guy didn't work under our step-father. He worked _with_ him. Like partners. I'm not sure what he did exactly. But whatever it was, it wasn't good. They only met at the manor and he was always alone. Every time he met with our step-father, Gozaburo would end up in a terrible mood. Even back then, he terrified me. His presence spelled trouble for Seto and I."

"I'm sorry," Anzu said.

"Is there any chance of finding the guy?"

"I've been looking, but I have almost nothing to go on. Nothing but a physical description and a fake name. Even with KC technology, the computers need something more than _that_. I checked the mainframe for the names of Gozaburo's business partners, but again, there's no hint of the guy. Unfortunately, if he was working under the table like I thought he was, there wouldn't be any info on him anywhere."

"Keep looking. If he exists, he must leave a trace. Police records?" Yugi offered lamely. There wasn't much else he could say. They were looking for a ghost.

"No, he's not an ordinary thug. The police wouldn't know—" The vice president was cut off by the phone ringing. He excused himself briskly and picked up the head piece. After a few seconds of silence, Mokuba suddenly snapped, "I told you the meeting is cancelled! No, we can't reschedule. There will be no more talks while the CEO is away." A brief pause, then, "That will be up to him."

Both friends could hear an angry voice yelling through the line.

"I don't care what you do," The boy answered coolly. If Mokuba looked frustrated before, he was quite ticked off now. He sprung up on his feet. His eyes narrowed dangerously and his voice was cold. "Well he's not here. I am. And that's all you're going to get. And as long as I am in charge, there will be no more 'business arrangements' between our companies. So take your contract and get out of this town for all I care. Don't try to contact my company again." With that, he slammed the phone down into the receiver, effectively cutting off what ever outraged comment the voice on the other line was surely about to make.

Anzu and Yugi looked at each other, both alarmed. This was new. They've never seen the teen act so much like his brother before. There was more scorn and anger behind his child-like eyes than they had ever imagined. It was the first time they saw how much of Kaiba was really in the black-haired boy. They've never looked so similar.

"Are you okay?" Yugi asked carefully. As the boy sank back into his chair, he regarded his young friend carefully with a worried expression. Mokuba looked exhausted. The bags under his eyes were clearly evident on his pale face. It was doubtful that the kid got any sleep the past few nights. He was thirteen. He was supposed to be worrying about school and hanging out with friends, not handling persistent businessmen wanting something from him or trying to juggle running a multi-billion dollar corporation on his own whilst searching in vain for his missing brother.

"It's fine. I'm sorry about that; I'm just so sick of dealing with—" Mokuba started bitterly but then noticed the concerned expression with which the other boy stared at him, "I'm not okay," he admitted, "But I will be."

"You know if you need anything, anything at all, you can come to us," the brunette offered. "If you need a break from all this," she motioned to the phone with her hand, "You can come over. We'll be there."

Mokuba looked at her, grateful.

"I know that we are no substitute for your brother," Yugi added, "But if you need a friend, you can count on us."

"Thank you," the young teen answered, and meant it, "I just don't know what to do anymore. I can't find him. I don't even know for sure what happened to him. All I know is that he's gone and it hurts. It really hurts."

"It'll be okay," Anzu leaned across the desk and took hold of his hand, squeezing reassuringly, "You'll get through this."

"I hope so. I don't know what I'll do if he's really gone." The boy admitted. Yugi stood up and came around the other side of the desk. He knelt in front of the grieving brother and wrapped his arms around his small frame, hugging him tightly

"Just don't give up," the King of Games whispered into his ear, "We'll find him."

"Thank you," Mokuba repeated. He returned the hug and willed himself to believe his friend's words.

* * *

A/N- Long chapter with nothing happening in it? Maybe. But I thought we should check up on poor Mokuba. Next chapter will focus on Kaiba, promise.


End file.
